South Ossetia: Russian armor in, refugees out

Regular military troops streaming across the border were joined by civilian fighters driving their own vehicles, wearing slapped-together uniforms and carrying personal weapons. Many were ethnic Ossetians living in the Russian region of North Ossetia.

One of the fighters, who gave his name as Zaur, said South Ossetia's history was a struggle against tyranny.

"They are guilty, they started the fighting," Zaur said of the Georgians.

The South Ossetia conflict appeared to have revived local faith in the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin that had been shaken severely in 2004 when Chechen militants took more than 1,000 hostages in the North Ossetian town of Beslan, a crisis that ended in the deaths of more than 300, most of them children.

"We are Putin fanatics," one of Zaur's fellow volunteers declared. Putin, president at the time of Beslan, is now prime minister.

Later that evening, Putin arrived in Vladikavkaz to talk to South Ossetian refugees. He said some 34,000 refugees had been registered as of Saturday night.

"The leaders of Russia? They support us," said Zakhar Valeyev, 48, an artist working at a restored Orthodox convent on the banks of the Ardon River, where more than 30 refugees had found shelter. He said he had gone to Tshkinvali on Saturday to plead with his brother to flee, but his brother refused.

Many Ossetians said they were angry with the United States, an ally of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, and accused the U.S. of supporting his military strike to regain control of South Ossetia.

"The world powers don't see the situation in the North Caucasus," said Nona Bagayeva, the head of the convent. "And they don't do anything to stop the situation."

"The whole world has come to hate America," she said.