MOSCOW, August 10, 2008 (AFP) - A spokeswoman for South Ossetia's separatist government on Sunday said 20 people were killed and 150 wounded by Georgian shelling overnight in the regional capital of Tskhinvali.

Georgian forces 'fired on Tskhinvali methodically all night. But for now, a relative calm has settled in the city,' spokeswoman Irina Gagloyeva told Russia's Vesti-24 television.

The overnight shelling killed 20 and wounded 150, she said.

'The city is almost fully destroyed. Civilians left in the city are hiding in bomb shelters and basements,' the separatist government said in a statement on its website.