DATE=1/5/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-257808
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian forces and Chechen rebels are claiming
battle successes as fighting rages in the Chechen
capital, Grozny, and in Chechnya's southern mountains.
Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports Chechnya's
President Aslan Maskhadov is calling for a ceasefire
from January eighth to 11th to allow observers into the
besieged capital.
TEXT: Russian news agencies say Chechen President
Aslan Maskhadov has called for a three-day ceasefire
to allow Russian and international observers into the
capital to assess charges that Russian troops used
chemical weapons.
A Russian general responded to the allegations,
calling them -- disinformation and lies. Both Russian
and Chechen officials have denied charges of chemical
weapons use in the past. Moscow has said it would not
negotiate with the rebels until they turn over what
officials describe as -- terrorists operating inside
the breakaway republic.
Chechen rebels are fighting for control of Grozny's
northern outskirts, despite independent news reports
that federal forces have set up military bases on the
northeastern edge of the rebel capital.
Both sides are reporting battle successes and both
boast of enemy casualties. It is difficult to get
independent confirmation of either side's claims.
Access for foreign media is limited, and Russian news
agencies are mostly confined to Russian military
headquarters in a neighboring republic.
Russia's Defense Minister says the Chechnya offensive
is, in his words -- going as planned. But Chechen
fighters say they are gaining the upper hand as
fighting moves into Grozny and the mountains, which
are easier to defend using guerilla tactics.
Rebel fighters have reportedly regained control of
parts of Grozny's Khankala district. But federal
forces say they have occupied the city's Nozhai-Yurt
district and are keeping control of a northern
district where fighting has been raging for weeks.
Rebels are firing mortars and anti-aircraft weapons at
Russian troops as advancing under cover of helicopter
gunships.
Russian military officials say forces are also bombing
targets in Chechnya's Vedeno district and the Argun
Gorge. They say warplanes destroyed several rebel
bases and anti-aircraft installations.
Officials from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry
say more than 80-thousand Chechen refugees have
returned to Russian-occupied Chechnya where
electricity and gas supplies have resumed. But
independent news reports from occupied cities say
supplies in federal-controlled territories are scarce.
(SIGNED)
NEB/EC/GE/RAE
05-Jan-2000 11:21 AM EDT (05-Jan-2000 1621 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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