Russian forces have attacked the city of Gori, 80km from the Georgian capital [Reuters]

Although South Ossetia lies inside Georgia, it is ostensibly ruled by a Russian-backed provincial government as the Republic of South Ossetia.

But it is not internationally recognised as such and Western powers support Georgia's claims to territorial integrity.

However, the majority of South Ossetia's population hold Russian passports and the region of North Ossetia is a Russian territory.

For analysis on the recent conflict, Al Jazeera spoke to Rachel Clogg, a Caucasus analyst with Conciliation Resources, an international non-governmental organisation registered as a charity in the UK.

Al Jazeera: There is speculation that this a war on two levels - a domestic localised dispute, at the same time as a broader strategic one. What's your view of that?

Rachel Clogg: I think that's absolutely the case. What we're talking about is an internal secessionist conflict within Georgia, but one that has huge implications in terms of the role that Russia is playing and the sign that Russia is sending to the outside world.

As you know, Georgia has significant support from the US for the restoration of its territorial integrity, though I should say not for this means of trying to restore it.

AJ: So is that because Russia sees Georgian overtures to the West as being antagonistic, or is it more simply because Georgia and the Caucasus - more broadly - have become an energy highway to Europe and the West?

RC: I think it's a bit of both. Russia's interest in the Caucasus is a strategic interest. It is also, you could say, an emotional interest. 

There are a lot of ties between Russia and the Caucasus and the Soviet legacy has left Russia with a very particular relationship to Georgia.

And I do think that Russia has very real fears that Georgian closeness to the West - and particularly Georgia's aspirations to join Nato - are threatening to it on its immediate southern border.

AJ: If we can just look at the localised dispute for a moment, Georgia refers to it as re-integration, but Russia quite clearly is describing it as ethnic cleansing. What is actually going on there?

RC: What's going on, is that there's a population in South Ossetia that has for 15 years now made it very clear that they do not see a political future for themselves within Georgia.

Their aspiration is to sovereignty, although because there's also a North Ossetia over the border - a Russian region there - where Ossetians also live, quite a number of people in South Ossetia would like to have closer ties to Russia and potentially become a part of Russia.

AJ: There was a referendum in 2006 wasn't there?

RC: There was indeed, and the population voted overwhelmingly to not be a part of Georgia.

I think this is really fundamental in understanding what's going on now, because both the South Ossetians and the Abkhaz - another secessionist region of Georgia - have no trust in Georgia and have expressed their desire not to be a part of Georgia.

And what they see coming from Georgia is constant pressure and the threat of the possibility of renewed military action, which has left very few chances for genuine negotiations and a peace process that can have an outcome that will suit the different needs and interests of the different groups involved.