Tbilisi - Georgia's security council chief Alexander Lomaia confirmed Russian forces had left the strategic cities of Gori and Zugdidi in Georgia late Friday.

He added, however, that Russian troops had not unblocked checkpoints on a key highway between Tbilisi and Senaki, news agency Interfax reported.

Georgian media, meanwhile, reported explosions heard at Georgian military bases in Senaki, suggesting the ongoing demolition of Georgian military hardware by Russian forces.

Russia's army general staff said that troops were "in the final stage of pulling back," fulfilling President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to pull out troops by Friday.

But a top general said that Russian troops would continue to hold buffer zones and maintain peacekeeping forces in the two breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. (dpa)