November 10, 1999
Web posted at: 12:25 a.m. EST (0525 GMT)

In this story: Dealing with 'terrorists' Chechen refugees shiver in shelters U.S. calls again for negotiations Moscow imposes restrictions RELATED STORIES, SITES

GROZNY, Russia -- Russia, refusing to bow to Western pressure to end its offensive against Chechnya, on Tuesday pressed its campaign in the war-ravaged republic.

Russian forces battered Chechen towns and rebel positions as their commanders vowed nothing would stop the offensive until its goal is achieved.

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"Our troops will not leave until every last bandit on this territory is destroyed," one Russian general said.

Russian ground forces also shelled Bamut, a southwestern town, and Gudermes, Chechnya's second-largest city. Both have been under heavy Russian fire for weeks.

Helicopters fired rockets on the northern outskirts of the breakaway republic's capital, Grozny. No casualty figures were available from Tuesday's offensive.

Russia's intensifying campaign in Chechnya, which began with air raids on September 5, has caused concern in the West. But Russian officials have rejected criticism.

Dealing with 'terrorists'

"We are dealing with well-organized, international terrorists. If we don't destroy them now, we will face them a fourth, fifth, a tenth time," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

Ilyas Akhmadov, foreign minister in the embattled Chechen government, told the daily newspaper Le Figaro he was sure his people would defeat the Russian army in the end.

"Russian patriotism will crumble as the coffins start arriving in Russia -- it's just a matter of time and of the quantity of blood that this savage beast is ready to waste," he said in an interview due to be published Wednesday.

Relying on air power has kept Russian casualties low so far. But poor visibility in winter could force helicopters to fly low, making them more vulnerable to portable anti-aircraft missiles.

Despite heavy cloud cover and rain on Tuesday, Russian bombers destroyed 10 rebel vehicles, an air defense installation and three militant strongholds overnight, the military said.

The bombings targeted the rebel stronghold of Urus-Martan, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Grozny, as well as militant camps in a southern mountain canyon.

Chechen refugees shiver in shelters

Thousands of Chechen refugees shivered in makeshift shelters in the neighboring Russian province of Ingushetia on Tuesday as heavy snow and freezing temperatures hindered Moscow's advance into Chechnya.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday that Chechen refugees were continuing to stream into Ingushetia at a rate of 4,000 a day.

In Ingushetia, a refugee woman in light boots and clutching a log dashed to her tent in a desperate attempt to find warmth before her feet were soaked with freezing water.

"There is no wood, no gas, nothing. My legs are aching because it is cold, and we have not got anything," another old woman in an battered sheepskin jacket cried out.

Each of the large tents shelters a dozen people in rows of metal bunks. The top bunk almost touches a damp canvas roof, where melting snow seeps in.

The refugee crisis and mounting civilian casualties have prompted a chorus of Western criticism of Russia's action.

U.S. calls again for negotiations

The United States reiterated its demand for a negotiated end to the conflict. "We will continue to press for a minimization of civilian casualties and the maximum use of negotiating options to settle this," President Bill Clinton said.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine also stepped up his criticism of the offensive.

"We think Russia has lost its way in this adventure in the North Caucasus and should somehow recognize there is a Chechen problem that goes far beyond the issue of terrorism ... and should be treated on the political level," he said.

Moscow imposes restrictions

Moscow imposed restrictions on contacts between the North Caucasus and the outside world Tuesday and suspended air traffic between southern Russia and most Middle East countries.

Georgian authorities agreed over the weekend to Russia's demand to shut their border with Chechnya. Georgia is the only other nation to share a border with Chechnya.

Georgian officials had allowed women and children to flee from the war into Georgia, and about 1,500 refugees crossed over before the border was closed, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said Monday.

"We all feel pity for the refugees, but we have to obey orders," said a Georgian border guard who identified himself only by his first name, Ali.

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

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