TBILISI, Georgia (AFP)--Russian forces have "changed their mind" about leaving the flashpoint Georgian town of Gori and aren't withdrawing, a Georgian interior ministry spokesman told AFP Thursday.
"All night they said they would leave and now they have changed their mind. Georgian forces have stopped (going to Gori) to avoid clashes with the Russians," Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP.
The same official said earlier Thursday that Georgian forces were retaking control of Gori as the Russian military started to withdraw.
Russian officials had said their pullout from the city 85 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Tbilisi would be completed within two days.