Russian warplanes bombed the Georgian city of Gori overnight, hitting a media centre and killing a Dutch television journalist who was in the city to cover the invasion.

The Dutch television news station RTL reported that its cameraman Stan Storimans, 39, was killed and correspondent Jeroen Akkermans was wounded in the leg in the attack. RTL said that, in total, five people died in the Gori bombing. The assault took place as the Georgian army and most of the city's remaining inhabitants fled in disarray believing that Russian troops were about to take the town.

Meanwhile, Georgian authorities said that Russian fighter jets had once again attempted to bomb a strategic oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, which carries fuel from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Georgia.

Amid Georgian fears that the Russian army was preparing to march on the Georgian capital Tbilisi and topple the government of President Mikhail Saakashvili, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, appeared to have ordered a halt to military operations this morning.

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In a statement, Mr Medvedev said that Russia's military had punished Georgia enough for its attack last week on South Ossetia.

“The security of our peacekeepers and civilians has been restored,” he said. “The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses. Its military has been disorganised.”

The Russian President said that he had, however, ordered the Russian military to continue to defend itself, and to quell any signs of Georgian resistance.

“If there are any emerging hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions, you should take steps to destroy them,” he told his defence minister at a Kremlin meeting screened on national television.

He spoke as Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, arrived in Moscow to head international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire - a trip seen as the biggest test of his diplomatic skills since he won office in May last year.

Forging a common EU position has proved difficult because of the wide gulf between two camps of member states. Poland and the former Soviet republics from the Baltic wanted an aggressive condemnation of Russian military action while Italy and, to a lesser extent, Germany have been unwilling to raise tension with the Kremlin.

The Georgian government is now facing a new battle front, as separatist rebels in the western breakaway province of Abkhazia today launched their own military action to drive Georgian forces out of their territory.

Rebel fighters mounted an attack in the Kodori gorge - the last remaining toehold that the Georgian army has in Abkhazia.

"The operation to liberate the Kodori gorge has started," announced Sergei Shamba, the self-styled Abkhazian foreign minister.

Meanwhile, university and post office buildings are burning in Gori, the town that has seen the worst of the artillery battles since Russian troops drove the Georgian army out of South Ossetia last weekend.

President Bush has strongly condemned the Russian military action in Georgia, warning that any escalation would serious damage Russia's relations with the West.

"Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century," said Mr Bush. He urged Moscow to accept the Europe-backed peace plan which Mr Sarkozy intends to negotiate.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told a press conference in Moscow this morning that Georgia must withdraw its troops not just from South Ossetia but also from a buffer zone around the province, including the military installations around Gori.

He rejected claims that Russia wanted to topple Mr Saakashvili, but said that it would be better if the Georgian president resigned.

He accused Mr Saakashvili of war crimes, claiming that Georgian troops mowed down elderly South Ossetians with battle tanks during their brief and ill-fated incursion into the province last week.

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