• ‘No threat to Tbilisi’ – Saakashvili;
• Russia says it pulled out from Senaki;
 
President Saakashvili called on the capital city’s population not to panic as there was no threat for Tbilisi “at least till tomorrow.”

“If the capital faces any danger you will know it 12 hours before. It is desirable, if we all stay at home,” he said in a televised address late on August 11.

In a separate statement earlier, Saakashvili said that the Russian forces had occupied “significant part of Georgia.”

There was a sense of panic in Tbilisi with some trying to flee the capital triggering huge queues at the patrol stations.  

“The enemy forces have no such resources to occupy the capital,” Saakashvili said. “It is very important to avoid a sense of panic, because it may create more problems.”

“I ask you to stay at home,” he said. “Maybe several hundred of people have already left the city, but tell them to come back; it is much safer to stay home.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense official denied reports that the Russian troops were in Gori.

Davit Kezerashvili, the Georgian defense minister, also said that the Russian troops did not enter into Gori; he, however, said “the enemy forces” were in the vicinity of Gori.

Interfax news agency reported 10:50pm local time quoting the Russian Defense Ministry official saying that the Russian forces were pulled out from Senaki, citing that “the threat of Tskhinvali shelling has already been neutralized.”

Russian forces advanced deep into the Georgian territory from breakaway Abkhazia earlier on August 11 taking control of Senaki – a town about 150 kilometers away from breakaway South Ossetia. Georgia’s largest military base is located in Senaki.