Russia to Halt Georgia Military Operation

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has ordered his nation's troops to suspend their military operation in the neighboring state of Georgia after five days of fighting that by some estimates killed around 2,000 people.

However, reports said he still gave Russian soldiers the authority to use force against enemy fighters in the South Ossetia region.

The Russians entered Georgia last Friday, with Russia saying it wanted to halt a Georgian offensive against the breakaway South Ossetia region. Both Georgia and Russia were part of the former Soviet Union before it dissolved.

Since fighting broke out, U.S. President George Bush and other Western leaders had been urging the sides to stop the violence, but those pleas had largely been ignored.

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