Civilians desert Grozny as Russians surround militants

Civilians desert Grozny as Russians surround militants
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MOSCOW, DECEMBER 3: With Russian forces intensifying their artillery and aerial barrage to flush out terrorists from Grozny, the city has become a virtual ghost-town with almost no civilians left, except a large number of elderly and infirm, Russian NTV reported on Thursday.

Five thousand militants have dug in Grozny in readiness for a Russian attack. Russian troops have surrounded the city, leaving only a narrow escape corridor for the terrorists to southern mountains.

Intense fighting was reported by Russian television around the Chechen town of Argun, Shali and militants' stronghold of Urus-Martan, lying south-west and south-east of Grozny.

According to television reports, further south still in forests and mountains, thousands of well-armed Chechen fighters are believed to be dug in waiting for the close combat fight which the Russians have until now denied them.

Close combat along the entire frontline at the outskirts of Grozny, Urus-Martan and Argun was reported, where militant positions areunder ``drenching fire'' from Russian forces, involving long-range artillery and aerial attacks, Interfax news agency said.

Chechen officials said their fighters have a firm hold on Urus-Martan, but that federal forces have begun blockade of Argun and now control the highway to Grozny. In what is perceived as a change of tactics, Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev backed away on Wednesday from earlier claims that Russian forces would drive away militants from Chechnya by the year-end.

The military campaign could take ``one, two, three months'' to complete, he said, indicating Moscow was determined not to repeat the mistakes of last Chechen war, when Russian forces tried to capture Grozny by storm.

In another significant move, Russia has started arming Chechens to fight Chechens.

According to Russian commanders, about 200 Chechen fighters have joined the Chechen Opposition Army, led by former Grozny mayor Bislan Gantimirov and pledged to fight for Moscow.

Last month, Russian president BorisYeltsin ammestied Gantimirov from prison sentence for embezzling government money.