Fighting in South Ossetia has reportedly died down as Georgia began withdrawing its troops from the conflict zone. The move came a day after Georgia claimed to have captured key strategic positions in the breakaway region. Control will be handed over to a joint peacekeeping force of Russian, Ossetian and Georgian soldiers. The US welcomed the move, saying it sent the right signals, and urged both sides to seek a political solution. Georgia\'s new leader Mikhail Saakashvili earlier said the withdrawal was the \"last chance for peace\" in the region. Separatist South Ossetian fighters have been battling Georgian soldiers in the worst violence there in 10 years. Heavy shelling and skirmishes are said to have claimed the lives of at least seven Georgian soldiers recently. The Georgian authorities say their troops killed eight South Ossetian fighters in recent clashes, although the claim had not been confirmed. Russia has fiercely criticised Georgian advances in the area. Efforts are now under way to enforce a ceasefire deal struck last Friday and steadily violated since then. South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in 1992 following an 18-month conflict. Many of its inhabitants want to link up with North Ossetia, which is part of Russia. But President Saakashvili has made clear his intention to bring the troubled region back into the fold. He has said Georgia sent extra troops to South Ossetia to combat smuggling, and this had \"prompted vicious attacks on this contingent\". He called on world leaders to hold a conference on the future of South Ossetia and send Western peacekeepers to the region. On Thursday, Georgian forces reportedly captured key positions near Tskhinvali. After the apparent show of strength, President Saakashvili said the forces were ready to hand over to peacekeepers. \"We are ready to hand over control of these positions to the tripartite peacekeeping contingent, which also includes Georgians, and leave 500 of our select fighters under our peacekeeping force quota to protect Georgian villages against attacks and possible acts of provocation,\" he said. \"We are also ready to withdraw from all other positions and redeploy our forces outside the conflict zone in Gori.\" The BBC\'s Sarah Rainsford in Tbilisi said residents of Tskhinvali reported stray bullets hitting the city\'s central square on Thursday, despite the planned withdrawal. (BBC)