Georgia has appealed for international intervention and pulled its battered forces back to defend its capital Tbilisi as Russian troops move further into its territory.

Russian troops are now in full control of the breakaway region of Georgia, South Ossetia, and up to 2,000 civilians are feared dead.

They have also left the Georgian town of Senaki, near Abkhazia, after reporting forces had "eliminated" a threat to shell South Ossetia.

The secretary of Georgia's National Security Council Kakha Lomaia said: "They have captured the Georgian city of Gori."

But the Russian Defence Ministry quickly replied: "There are no Russian troops in Gori."

Russian officials have also said they have no intention of occupying territory beyond the breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

However a top UN peacekeeping official has said he will tell the Security Council that observers have confirmed Russian troops had entered Georgia.

The simmering conflict erupted last Thursday when Georgia suddenly sent forces to retake South Ossetia, which threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s and declared itself independent.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appealed to the international community for help: "We are working with the international community, but all we get from them are just words, appeals, moral support and humanitarian aid, but we need more, we want them to stop these barbaric aggressors."

The US president George Bush told Russia to end its military action in Georgia.

He said: "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.

"There is evidence that Russian forces may soon begin bombing the civilian airport in the capital city.

"If these reports are accurate, these Russian actions would represent a dramatic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia."

The conflict has unsettled oil markets because Georgia hosts a key pipeline supplying the West.

It has alarmed investors in Russia and has raised fears of a wider conflict in the volatile region bordering Iran, Turkey and Russia.

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