UK government urges Britons not to visit Georgia

The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office has issued an advisory aimed at strongly discouraging British citizens from travelling to Georgia, due to the current state of war between this former Soviet state and Russia. Russian forces entered the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia late yesterday and troops have engaged in relentless shelling and bombing. There are reports that Russian troops also attacked the town Gori, which is not actually in this contentious region, but rather in Georgia proper.

Britons who were planning non-essential travel to Georgia are being urged to cancel their trips, while the Foreign Office is asking all those who are already in the country to consider leaving if at all possible.  Although it is not advisable to travel to Georgia at all, British passport holders who are already in the country, are urged to leave rural areas and small towns, and seek refuge in Tbilisi, the national capital. It is likely that other western governments will follow the Foreign Office’s lead and will issue similar travel advisories in the coming days, if fighting persists.

Nearly 100 Georgians have died in the conflict, as well as 15 Russian soldiers who participated in the invasion.  Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has declared that his country is now in a state of war with Russia, thus effectively ushering in martial law.