Georgian forces surround breakaway capital: government

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian forces have surrounded the capital of breakaway South Ossetia and are advancing on the city, a senior Georgian government minister told Reuters on Thursday.

"Tskhinvali is surrounded by Georgian forces," Reintegration Minister Temur Iakobashvili, the government's pointman for South Ossetia, told Reuters.

He said Georgian forces had taken control of five Ossetian villages.

Russian news agencies quoted South Ossetia's de facto president, Eduard Kokoity, as saying the Georgian offensive had failed.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Richard Balmforth)