The ruins of Grozny are clearly under Russian control

February 4, 2000
Web posted at: 11:59 a.m. EST (1659 GMT)

In this story: Retreating or regrouping? Rebels scramble, Russians search RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

GROZNY, Russia -- A senior Russian commander said on Friday that Russia may withdraw some of its troops deployed in Chechnya now that federal troops have wrested control of the capital of Grozny -- a political prize in ruins -- from rebel fighters.

"It was decided today to prepare for a withdrawal of a considerable part of the troops engaged there," Valery Manilov, the first deputy chief of the General Staff, said at a news briefing.

It's estimated that Russia has at least 93,000 troops in Chechnya.

VIDEO Go into the heart of Grozny, with CNN's Steve Harrigan. (February 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     GALLERY Take a tour of the smoldering remains of Grozny     MESSAGE BOARD The battle for Chechnya

CNN's Steve Harrigan reported from Grozny that the ruins of the bombed-out city appear to be clearly under Russian control. But the military command said hundreds of rebels remain in the city and that street fighting continues, mostly around Minutka Square, which the Russians seized earlier this week.

Manilov did not say how deep the military pullbacks might be.

Besides Grozny, the federal troops now control the densely populated areas of northern and central Chechnya. But thousands of rebels are believed to be entrenched in the mountains to the south.

Retreating or regrouping?

The Chechen militants say that at least 3,000 rebels have made it out of Grozny since Monday and that they are trying to join comrades in the southern mountains. The rebels insist they left Grozny to regroup and wage a guerrilla war against Russian troops.

Russian troops patrol the empty streets of Grozny

But Russian officials say they lured the rebels out and trapped them in a minefield.

A top regional commander, Gen. Vladimir Shamanov, told Russian TV stations that some rebels were told the Russians would show them a safe corridor out of Grozny for $100,000. He said the rebels then were killed on Monday in the minefield near Alkhan-Kala, just west of Grozny.

"Frankly, we did not expect bandits, especially the key figures, to swallow the bait," Shamanov said. He did not say whether the rebels had paid the money.

Rebels said the Russians did promise safe passage, but did not offer money.

Rebels scramble, Russians search

Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev told the military newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, that 1,500 rebels were killed trying to leave Grozny. The rebels say they lost about 400 fighters in the minefield at Alkhan-Kala.

Manilov said Friday that rebels trying to reach the southern mountains are being blocked by Russians' "pre-emptive actions," which kill large numbers of militants. He said about 1,000 militants remain in Grozny with another 6,000 to 7,000 in the southern mountains.

On Friday, Russian troops surrounded villages on the rebels' escape route and went house-to-house looking for militants as helicopter gunships buzzed overhead. But residents said the Russians were too late and that the fighters were already gone.

Russian troops moved into Chechnya in September after Islamic rebels twice invaded the Russian republic of Dagestan. Moscow also blames the rebels for deadly apartment bombings in three Russian cities, but the rebels deny responsibility for the bombings.

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

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