(Reuters) – Fighting raged in and around the capital of Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region on Friday as Georgian troops and warplanes pounded separatist forces in a bid to regain control of the territory. The separatists have Moscow’s political and financial backing.

(Reuters) – Georgia, where government forces fought pro-Russian separatists on Friday, is an energy highway to the West with two major pipelines routed via the capital Tbilisi.

MEGVREKISI, Georgia (Reuters) – Fighting raged in and around the capital of Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region on Friday as Georgian troops, backed by warplanes, pounded separatist forces in a bid to re-take control of the territory.