Georgians, bewildered and broken

By afternoon, the tanks were back in a haze of smoke and dust. Russian soldiers lounged on top, sprawled in their fatigues, shutting down the roads out of the city. Russia and Georgia had signed a cease-fire agreement the night before, but it already seemed like an illusion.

Wednesday was an ordeal of lawlessness, random violence and fear for exhausted Georgians. Bandits and militiamen roamed the streets of Gori and nearby villages, stopping cars at gunpoint and stripping passersby of their possessions.

Russian tanks creaked off toward the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, violating the truce, before turning back. The smell of fire and rumors of atrocities drifted into town from Russian-controlled farmlands to the north.

"When they see people coming, they just start shooting," said Temo Petushvili. Grizzled and gray, he squeezed a cigarette between filthy fingers and wandered in a daze through town in search of a way out. "Do you think you can bring me to the edge of town or someplace? I want to get out of here."

It was unclear what Russia's objective was, and whether the incursions would continue. Wednesday may have been one last swipe of humiliation for a defeated Georgia, a final reminder of Russia's military superiority, or part of the new status quo as defined by Moscow.

The streets of Gori stretched quiet and empty, haunted by stray dogs, littered with bomb-smashed glass, blasted in the sun. Gunshots popped in the hot air. Thieves fired shots at the Orthodox bishop's residence, where volunteers were baking bread to feed stranded civilians, and stole his car.

There was little chance of homecoming for refugees driven out by the bombing. On the contrary, fresh waves of panicked families poured toward the relative haven of Tbilisi in crammed cars, or stood on the rural roadsides, flapping arms to flag a ride.

Bandits and looters raged through ethnic Georgian villages in and around South Ossetia, eyewitnesses said. The machine-gun-toting men didn't wear uniforms; they were variously described as Russians, Cossacks, Chechens or ethnic Ossetians. They rounded up men, raped women and set fire to homes, villagers said.