Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Georgia accused Russia of violating a cease-fire by sending troops beyond the area of fighting in South Ossetia. Russia denied the claim, saying its soldiers are disabling Georgian military targets as part of a peacekeeping mission.

Georgian Security Council chief Kakha Lomaia said the Russians are advancing ``well beyond the conflict zone,'' while President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russia is breaking the truce. Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian troops near South Ossetia are ``demilitarizing'' the area to prevent Georgia from attacking again.

In Washington, President George W. Bush said the U.S. military will lead a humanitarian aid effort to Georgia and that he expects Russia to withdraw all troops sent into the country since fighting started. The move will place U.S. and Russian warplanes, ships and soldiers in close proximity in the Black Sea country.

Russia's troop movements come one day after Georgia and Russia agreed to a European Union-brokered peace plan to end five days of fighting. EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to push the peace deal forward. The 27-nation bloc may send military personnel to monitor the cease-fire, said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country brokered the accord.

`Pockets of Resistance'

Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, said Russian forces in Georgia have been observing a cease-fire since 3 p.m. yesterday after President Dmitry Medvedev called a halt to military operations. He said the Russian peacekeeping mission includes weakening Georgia's military so that it ``can't even think about repeating its attempts to attack this or that territory.''

When Medvedev called off Russia's incursion into Georgia, he ordered the military to destroy any ``pockets of resistance'' it encounters. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia's forces will withdraw only after Georgian troops return to their barracks.

Saakashvili said Russian tanks continue to operate within Georgia, destroying ``infrastructure,'' as Russia said it was responding to sporadic attacks by Georgian snipers while observing the terms of a cease-fire declared by Medvedev.

Lomaia said irregular troops are looting the city of Gori, near the conflict zone. The Kremlin declined immediate comment, saying it needed to investigate the claim.

Cease-Fire Violations

``Large-scale weapons are being used,'' Saakashvili told reporters today in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. ``Russian tanks are in the streets, and Russian soldiers are behaving extremely aggressively.'' Nogovitsyn said the cease-fire was ``not being fully observed'' by Georgia.

Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said Saakashvili ``was caught in his own trap'' in the conflict with Russia.

``When they ask why the Russians are destroying our strategic facilities, I ask why we shelled Tskhinvali and killed people there,'' Shevardnadze said in an interview. ``I don't want to criticize Saakashvili, but it's clear he wasn't ready and should have known that Russia has a lot of reason to defend the region, such as the presence of its citizens.''

Nogovitsyn said 74 Russian soldiers died in the fighting and 171 were wounded. Nineteen soldiers are missing in action, he said. Temur Iakobashvili, Georgia's minister for reintegration issues, said 175 of the country's soldiers died. Saakashvili said 180,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.

Peace Plan

Early this morning, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Georgia agreed to a six-point plan to end fighting after the former Soviet republic's military was routed by Russia in the five-day conflict.

Medvedev ordered a halt to the military campaign, which was sparked by fighting between Georgia and South Ossetia on Aug. 7. Saakashvili said Russia launched a ``well-planned invasion'' of Georgia the next day. Nogovitsyn said Georgia planned its incursion into South Ossetia in advance and expected to meet resistance only from Ossetian forces and the 588 Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region.

The war, Russia's first major foreign offensive since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has further strained relations between the U.S., which considers Georgia one of its closest allies in the region, and its former Cold War foe.

Key Ally

The EU peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Georgian and Russian troops, renunciation of the use of force, an end to all military operations and a commitment to making humanitarian aid freely available in the conflict zone.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgian control in wars in the early 1990s and Russian forces have been stationed as peacekeepers in the regions under a Commonwealth of Independent States mandate. Most people living in both regions have Russian passports. Saakashvili yesterday said Georgia is quitting the CIS, a loose association of all former Soviet republics except the three Baltic states.

The West sees Georgia as a key ally in the region, in part because it has a pipeline that carries Caspian Sea crude oil to Western markets, bypassing Russia. Bush backs Georgia's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Russia views as a security threat.

NATO should affirm the potential of Georgia and Ukraine to become alliance members in the face of the Russian incursion, said U.S. government officials who spoke to reporters in Washington yesterday on condition they not be identified.

Medvedev declared a day of mourning for today, ordering state flags to be flown at half-mast and canceling entertainment programs on radio, television and in theaters. Georgia also declared a period of mourning.

Russian officials say about 2,000 people died in South Ossetia during the fighting.

To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at Hmeyer4@bloomberg.net; Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi hbedwell@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 13, 2008 15:08 EDT