GEORGIA TROOPS SHELL CAPITAL OF ABKHAZIA

Georgian troops backed by tanks stormed government headquarters in the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi on Aug. 18, and several buildings in the city were ablaze, witnesses said.

Tanks and armored vehicles rolled into the coastal city in Abkhazia, a breakaway region in Western Georgia, according to the Interfax news agency and Russian television.

Anna Broide, a Russian journalist reached by telephone inside the Abkhazian Council of Ministers' building, said Georgian troops had fired upon the government headquarters and set the parliament building on fire.