Georgian and separatist forces exchanged heavy fire for a second straight day in breakaway South Ossetia on Thursday, and officials said four Georgian members of a peacekeeping force in the region were killed. Amid weeks of tension that has repeatedly erupted into exchanges of gunfire and shelling, the statement marked the first time the Georgians or South Ossetians have claimed deaths on their own side. Russia called for an immediate cease-fire and an emergency meeting of a joint commission comprising representatives from Georgia and South Ossetia as well as Russia and the Russian province of North Ossetia, across the border from the restive region in northern Georgia. "The situation is escalating with every hour and could go out of control and any moment" with "catastrophic" results, Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin said in a statement released by the ministry. He said Russia would send envoys to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. "The Russian side demands an immediate cease-fire by the conflicting sides," Loshchinin said.
