Stay out of Georgia, Britons urged

1:04pm Saturday 9th August 2008

Britons were urged against all but essential travel to Georgia on Saturday as fighting grew over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The Foreign Office upgraded its travel advice as the country headed towards all-out war with Russia.

It is also advising against any travel in South Ossetia itself, neighbouring Abkhazia or the upper Kodori valley.

About 1,500 are thought to have been killed in the conflict so far, with another 30,000 fleeing the area.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband are being kept up to date with developments in the region.

Britain is calling for an immediate ceasefire, but is making clear it "fully supports Georgia's territorial integrity".

The pro-west Georgian government declared on Saturday that the country was in a state of war and was asking parliament to approve martial law.

Fighting escalated quickly after Georgia's large-scale military operation to retake South Ossetia prompted a military response from Russia on Friday.

There are also claims that Georgia is building up troops on the border of Abkhazia, another area which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, backed by Russia, want international recognition for their self-proclaimed independence.