EU voices concern, urges ceasefire in Georgia

"We are very concerned by the dramatic escalation of the situation," the diplomat told AFP.

"We are following it very closely and we are in contact with all the parties," he added.

Consultations were under way between the French EU presidency and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union diplomat said.

"We renew the appeal given Thursday by the head EU diplomat Javier Solana and call on all parties to end the violence immediately."

Georgian fighter jets bombed positions in the breakaway region of South Ossetia overnight, local authorities and Russian media sources said Friday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin condemned the "aggressive actions" by Georgian troops in South Ossetia, and said Russia would be compelled to retaliate.

In recent months, Moscow and Tbilisi have sparred repeatedly over South Ossetia -- which broke away from Tbilisi’s control in the early 1990s -- and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia.

Georgia’s pro-Western government accuses Moscow of seeking to annex the two regions and derail its efforts to join the transatlantic NATO alliance, which Russia vehemently opposes.