An overnight fight between Georgia and its breakaway South Ossetia region has left two South Ossetian civilians wounded, local media reported Friday.

Both Georgian and separatist officials blamed each other for firing the first shot that started the fight at about 11:00 pm Moscow time (1900 GMT) Thursday and ended two hours later.

Eduard Kokoity, leader of the separatist region, said Georgian forces waged a "three-sided" attack on its main city Tskhinvali, using grenade launchers and artillery, and had tried to enter the northern part of the city but were repulsed.

However, according to Georgian interior ministry spokesman Guram Donadze, the two-hour attack was waged against the ethnic Georgia village, Tamarasheni, and came from the South Ossetian side.

Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, head of the Russian unit in a joint peacekeeping force in South Ossetia, said there had been an exchange of fire between Tskhinvalia and nearby Tamarasheni. But he said there was no attempt by forces to enter Tskhinvali.

Tension has remained high for several weeks in South Ossetia, which lies between Georgia and Russia, and has enjoyed de facto independence since 1992 when Georgia and South Ossetia signed an agreement on solving the conflict.

A joint peacekeeping contingent, composed of Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian troops, has been patrolling a Georgian-Ossetian conflict area since 1992.