Russian troops start dismantling Georgia posts

NADARBAZEVI, Georgia -- Russian troops began dismantling positions Sunday in the so-called security zones inside Georgia they have occupied since August's brief but intense war, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said.

The moves came as Russia faced a Friday deadline for pulling back its troops under terms of a deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union. Hundreds of EU observers began monitoring Russia's compliance with the pact last week.

Russia and Georgia went to war in early August after Georgia launched a massive barrage on the capital of South Ossetia, one of two Georgian separatist regions where Russia has troops stationed as peacekeepers. Russian forces then declared what it called a security zone roughly seven kilometres deep inside Georgia south of South Ossetia and the other separatist region, Abkhazia.