Rebels in western Georgia reversed a week of retreat on Saturday by retaking a key railroad junction, chasing out Russian and Georgian government troops.
The Russians had been stationed in the town, Senaki, to guard rail lines threatened by the civil war in the former Soviet republic.State radio said troops loyal to Georgian leader Eduard She-vard-nad-ze left Senaki under heavy rebel fire to prevent civilian bloodshed. Twenty government soldiers were killed and dozens wounded in fierce fighting for the town overnight, said Georgian military spokesman Soso Margishvili.
The rebels are fighting to restore ousted president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, an ardent nationalist, to power.
Maj. Gen. Yuri Baleuvski, chief of Russia's Transcaucasian military headquarters, said the Russians came under heavy rebel shelling early in the day. He said they fired back in self-defense but were ordered to withdraw after government forces fled the town.