Russia allegedly using cluster bombs

It has been a day of intense diplomatic negotiations with Western leaders prodding the presidents of Georgia and Russia. It ended with a cease fire that was less than perfect.

Russia sent troops into Georgia one week ago after it launched a military offensive to retake control of breakaway province Southern Ossetia. The province has been outside of Georgian control since the 90s.

The truce calls for Russian troops to leave the country. Russia has yet to sign the agreement. Georgia's president already has.

The truce does not address the status of Ossetia or another breakaway province, Abkazian.

On the ground, the peace still seems tenuous, with reports of continued Russian military maneuvers.

ABC7's Cheryl Jennings Friday spoke by phone with an observer from Human Rights Watch stationed in Tiblisi. Giorgi Gogia said his team has proof that Russia used cluster bombs, which split apart as they explode.

"We have seen the crater, spoke to the victims and doctors who operated on them, we have seen the shrapnel that was taken out of the human body," Gogia said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has denied using cluster bombs, saying the witnesses were biased.

Copyright © 2024 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.