Calls for calm have fallen on deaf ears with a dramatic escalation in the South Ossetian conflict fuelling fears of full-scale war.

Fighting is raging in and around the capital Tskhinvali, as Georgian troops pound separatist forces in a bid to re-take control of the breakaway region.

And Moscow has vowed to respond after it said several Russian peacekeepers were killed by Georgian artillery fire.

As Russian President Dmitri Medvedev holds top-level security meetings, his foreign ministry denied Tbilisi’s claims that Russian jets had bombed Georgian territory.

After an emergency meeting, the United Nations remains split on the crisis.

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