The Russians bombard Chechnya but avoid direct conflict with militants to minimize their own casualties

December 29, 1999
Web posted at: 9:38 a.m. EST (1438 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

GROZNY, Russia (CNN) -- Rebel fighters put up stiff resistance in the center of Grozny on Wednesday, but Russia's artillery bombardment of the Chechen capital showed no signs of lessening after days of ceaseless, thunderous attack.

Top Russian military officials maintain the optimistic view that their troops will control the city within days, but admit the going is tough. Taking Grozny would essentially give Russia control of the northern and central regions of Chechnya.

VIDEO Home for Russian soldiers in Chechnya is a mud hole. CNN's Steve Harrigan pays a visit there. (December 28) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Russia's future     ALSO

"It is hard, bloody work," said Gen. Valery Manilov, first deputy chief of the Russian general staff. Russia has been attacking Chechnya since September, trying to rout rebels fighting for the independence of the breakaway republic.

Manilov said Russian forces worked methodically from neighborhood to neighborhood to isolate rebel fighters, believed to number around 1,500. Rebel spokesman Movladi Udugov said the tactic was working to some extent, but the price was high.

"They come and go, come and go," Udugov said of the Russians.

Up to 500 Russian soldiers have died in the center of the city, Udugov said. Both the Russians and the Chechens, however, have tended to exaggerate enemy casualties.

Udugov admitted that rebel fighters had retreated from a pair of hills inside the city, and that they had been forced to retreat from positions in the Sharoi region of the southern mountains.

"The Russians have enjoyed a certain success" in the mountains, Udugov said, although the Chechens had their own success in the Vedeno district nearby, pushing Russian forces back to the border with the Dagestan republic.

OSCE warns of regional instability

Russia's Chechnya offensive neared the start of its fourth month despite ever-increasing objections from the West, where harsh criticism has emerged over what's seen as Russia's lack of concern for Chechen civilians. Nearly a quarter of a million Chechens have fled the rebel republic; between 10,000 and 40,000 are believed still holed up inside the battered capital.

Knut Vollebaek, head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), repeated his call on Wednesday for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, and warned that the crisis may soon threaten stability in the entire Caucasus region.

Vollebaek, who is also Norway's foreign minister, said in a statement that Chechnya's civilian population was being subjected to "disproportionate and indiscriminate use of military force."

Soldiers detain a man near Grozny on Tuesday

Russia has consistently rejected such complaints, insisting its campaign is necessary to protect Russian security. Russia calls the Chechen-based rebels "terrorists" who are responsible for a series of deadly bombings in Russian territory -- a charge the rebels deny.

The rebels do not deny, however, twice invading Dagestan, also a Russian republic, and attempting to establish an independent Islamic state there. Russian forces drove the militants out both times, pursuing them into Chechnya the second time.

Russia's military leaders have been cautious in their approach to the campaign, avoiding direct conflict with the militants in order to minimize their own casualties. A previous war in Chechnya -- from 1994 to 1996 -- ended badly for Russia, with tens of thousands of slain soldiers and Chechnya itself a Russian republic in name only.

Correspondent Steve Harrigan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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