The Russian legislature on Friday declared a state of emergency in North Ossetia, and Russian troops were airlifted to the region, where hundreds of people have died in battles with Georgian militants.

The arrival of troops signaled that Russian leaders were ready to use force, if necessary, to put down what is one of the worst ethnic conflicts in the former Soviet Union.Russian troops also have been caught up in the undeclared war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in another part of the Caucasus Mountain range.

On Friday, Azerbaijani soldiers, backed by more than 100 armored vehicles and four helicopters, began an offensive against the Armenian-dominated territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the independent Interfax news agency reported.

No casualty count was immediately available.

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In North Ossetia, ancient animosity between Georgians and Ossetians has flared in the past two years in the region about 950 miles south of Moscow.

Ossetian nationalists want to unite South Ossetia, which is part of Georgia, with North Ossetia, which is Russian territory. Georgia opposes South Ossetia's separatist drive.

In the recent fighting there, four people were killed and 12 wounded on Thursday when Russian soldiers opened fire on about 1,000 civilians in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, Tass said.

According to the news agency's account, the crowd had attacked troops in an effort to steal weapons and vehicles to use against militants in neighboring Georgia. The account could not be independently confirmed.

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