Russian bombs spread panic in Georgia

A Georgian man cries as he holds the body of his relative after a bombardment in Gori, 80 km (50 miles) from Tbilisi, August 9, 2008.

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - In front of a destroyed apartment block, a man sat clutching the body of his dead brother, trying to clean blood from his face.

Nearby, a woman knelt screaming over the body of another man killed in the Russian bombing raid on the Georgian town of Gori.

Covered in blood, an old woman stared into the distance. A man sat by the roadside with his head in his hands.

Those who could, scrambled to flee the town with whatever they could pack in their cars on Saturday.

"I can't understand their logic. They are bombing everything. Why are they bombing civilians?" said Nick Kipshidze, a local doctor.

The normally sleepy town of Gori, birthplace of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, had never expected to come under attack.

The panic after the bombing was a reflection of the shock in Georgia at the ferocity of Russia's response to its attempt to win back control of breakaway South Ossetia from Russian-backed separatists.

"It's unbelievable this kind of thing could be happening in the 21st century," said Kateran, in her 20s. She did not want to give her surname.

"You know Stalin was from here. He created this big country, big and powerful. It's just ironic that this should be happening."

A plume of smoke rose as a bomb hit the five-storey apartment block in Gori, just a few km (miles) from South Ossetia. It was unclear what the intended target of the strike had been.

DESTRUCTION

Five bodies could be seen lying in the wreckage. A Red Cross official, who asked not too be named, told Reuters he had counted 17 bodies at a local morgue. It was not clear how many of them died in the apartment bombing.

Georgia and Russia came into direct conflict over South Ossetia this week after Tbilisi launched a military offensive to regain control over the separatist region.

Russian officials said the death toll in South Ossetia stood at 2,000. Georgian officials said 129 Georgians had been killed in the fighting.

The situation was calmer in the capital Tbilisi, about 70 km (43 miles) from Gori, but Georgia's largest city was very much on edge.

Despite the shock, many were in a defiant mood and spoke up for President Mikheil Saakashvili over the assault launched on Friday to gain control over South Ossetia.

"(He) has done the right thing," said Tamila Gordeziani as she walked hand-in-hand with her grandson. "It's our land and our people. Russia is in the wrong and we need to finish this."

Giga Kvenetadze, 30, owns a music studio. He had lived in Russia for one year and had many Russian friends.

"To fight Russia is crazy," he said checking the latest information on his iPod.

"But I do support Saakashvili and his aim of having a fully independent country not controlled by Russia or the United States. And what Russia is doing is wrong. They must stop."

(Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)