WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. defense department said on Friday that it was monitoring the situation in Georgia but not ready to step in now.

    "We're monitoring it very closely," U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said at a press conference. "There has been some contact with Georgian authorities."

    When asked whether the Georgian has requested for help from the United States, he said "no."

    According to the Pentagon, there are about 127 U.S. defense personnel and contractors based in the area around the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to train the country's forces, including 35 civilians.

    "Nobody's been injured," Whitman said. "there is no plan to redeploy them."

    The conflict between Georgia and its rebel region South Ossetia worsened on Aug. 1-2, when South Ossetian authorities accused Georgian forces of shelling Tskhinvali.

    Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S. European Command, earlier confirmed with media that U.S. military trainers in Georgia were not involved in the escalating conflicts in South Ossetia.

    South Ossetia, along with another breakaway republic Abkhazia, broke away from Georgia in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But their self-proclaimed independence has not been internationally recognized.

    The United States pledged to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, stressing "no state should be taking actions that would violate that."