Russia prepares to target rebels

Russia is today poised to invade Georgia in a major operation to strike at Chechen rebel bases deep inside the country.

President Vladimir Putin is meeting with security chiefs in the southern city of Sochi after warning Georgia that it has run out of time to eradicate Chechen bases on its soil.

A two-pronged invasion is now being readied, with ground troops blasting a path across the border to link up with paratroopers, backed by strike aircraft.

Their target is the Pankisi Gorge, a valley that Mr Putin claims is home to "hundreds of terrorists" from Chechen forces and al Qaeda allies. Russia has long wanted to eradicate these safe havens, which provide a springboard for Chechen units to launch attacks across the border.

In a televised address, Mr Putin told his nation that military action will follow "if the Georgian leadership fails to prevent outrages and incursions into Russia's neighbouring areas".

So far Russia has not signalled when the invasion will be launched, but state television is preparing people for war, showing film of troops massing on the border. Tensions rose last month when Georgia captured 13 Chechen rebels who fled across the border from a Russian offensive. But Georgia, fearing a backlash from its own ethnic Chechens, refused to hand them over.

Mr Putin says he has the right to launch an attack under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1373, passed last year in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks.