Aug 11, 2008 11:59 pm US/Eastern
Fearful Georgians Demand Help From UN
Russians Ignore Western Concerns As Tiny Nation Burns
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Dozens of Georgians lined up outside the United Nations to protest the battle between Russia and their native land.
CBS News
A crisis is continuing in a little known country that could have worldwide consequences.
The president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia says Russian forces have captured several towns and one of the nation's military bases.
Earlier the violence got so out of control, even the Georgian president had to run for cover.
A special emergency session of the UN Security Council was held late Monday night.
The concern Monday on the faces of Georgian-Americans waiting outside the UN echoes the fear and uncertainty on the streets of their former homeland turned into a war zone by their historic masters in Moscow.
The Republic of Georgia -- once part of the Soviet Union – is being overrun by Russian troops and armor in a coordinated attack that may have been years in the planning.
Many blame Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"Putin is killing, basically killing our new nation," Georgian-American Mannana Gogua told CBS 2 HD on Monday.
The spark for the war was last week's attempt by the Georgia military to regain control of the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia on the Russian border.
The Russian reaction, however, was so massive as to threaten the very existence of Georgia's pro-Western Democratic government. President Mikheil Saakashvili signed a cease-fire agreement as he pleaded for help from the west.
"We are basically seeing the cold blooded, preplanned, premeditated murder of a small country," Saakashvili said.
Analysts say Putin is out to topple the Saakashvili government and replace it with one with more allegiance to Moscow.
Putin insists he's merely protecting Russians living in Georgia and he dismissed statements out of the White House on Monday night that depicted the Russians' actions as "Cold War thinking."
"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a Democratic government elected by its people," President George W. Bush said.
A draft cease-fire resolution could be before the Security Council here as early as Tuesday, but Russia as a permanent member could veto it.
Which means it's in control of the potential peace just as it dominates the war.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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