Russia bogged down in Grozny

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, JAN. 22. After six days of ferocious Russian assault on the Chechen capital Grozny, the rebels on Saturday were still in control of two- thirds of city and even managed to capture a top Russian commander and receive fresh reinforcements.

Moscow has admitted that a top Russian commander in Chechnya could have fallen into Chechen hands in Grozny. Russia's Defence Minister, Marshall Igor Sergeyev, said on Friday that Major- General Mikhail Malofeyev was missing in Grozny.Chechens said the General was being interrogated at a secret location outside Grozny and his testimony was being filmed. They said they had already sent a videotape to the Russian military, who however denied receiving any footage.

The Itar-Tass news agency on Saturday quoted Russian military sources in Chechnya as saying that rebel resistance was so strong that a daily advance of few hundred metres was considered a success and many buildings changed hands several times. The sources said Russian forces had brought under control a third of Grozny since they had launched the attack on Monday.

Itar-Tass said the rebels had thrown into the battle ``their last reserves'' - the presidential guards of Chechnya's leader, Mr. Aslan Maskhadov. The guards were earlier reported to be in the mountains south of Grozny. The rebel commandant of Grozny, Mr. Isa Munayev, confirmed to Interfax that 180 militants had arrived in the city in the past few days.

Russian soldiers told the NTV television that the favoured Chechen tactic in Grozny was to move through city underground passages in typical groups of three, armed with a sniper rifle, a machine gun and a grenade-launcher. Several such groups would ambush an advancing Russian unit, catching it in crossfire and quickly retreating before Russians called in artillery fire to pulverise buildings from where they had been fired upon. That was apparently how Gen. Malofeyev got captured.

The loss of a top Russian commander was the clearest yet indication that the operation in Grozny had gone awry. The Novye Izvestia daily said Gen. Malofeyev had broken an order banning senior officers from joining attacking troops because he felt the need to check personally upon controversial reports he was receiving from subordinates.

The Russian military said on Saturday they had killed more than 500 Chechens over the past 24 hours, while losing five of their own men. But Russian media said the military was grossly underreporting their losses. NTV television said military hospitals around Chechnya were overflowing with wounded Russian troops and were running short of medicines. The TV channel reported that a military transport plane had brought over 140 wounded soldiers to Perm, in Siberia, on Thursday and a second flight with more wounded had landed later that day in Yekaterenburg.

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Section  : International
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