Civilians trapped as Russian shells pound Chechen capital

Russian troops, who have captured nearly all the lowlands south of Grozny in the Chechen heartland, have now turned south, attacking a gorge leading to rebel strongholds in the mountains.

Russian media reported that troops were sweeping through the town of Shali, the last major lowland town apart from Grozny they had yet to seize. Rebels had said they withdrew on Friday.

Meanwhile, head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Knut Vollebaek, who was visiting neighbouring regions, urged both sides to declare a truce near Grozny and allow the tens of thousands of trapped civilians to escape. “I’mappealing to the Russian authorities to start a round-the-clock cease-fire around Grozny so that civilians can really leave,” he told reporters on Monday.

In Grozny, the steady thud of exploding shells could be heard. The city has been under siege for more than a week and has become the focus of international concern after Russia threatened an all-out air and artillery onslaught.

Under Western pressure, Russia rescinded an ultimatum issued last week saying it would kill anybody who remained in the city past December 11 and promised to set up safe corridors to allow civilians to escape. But so far only a few hundred have done so.

“Where can we go? They will not let us out through these corridors, if they even exist,” said Khadizhat, a woman trapped in Grozny with her children.

Residents said there had been no air strikes against Grozny for several days, but shelling in and around the city had not stopped. Small groups of armed men roamed the rubble-strewn streets, which were otherwise mostlyempty.

Escape routes require residents to make long treks through the ruined city on foot and many of those still in Grozny were isolated, elderly people who lacked the means to escape. “I fought for five years in World War II,” said 86-year-old Baisuk Isayev, adding, “World War II was a toy compared to this.”

The kavkaz.org web site, run by Chechen spokesman Movladi Udugov, reported: “The storming of the Chechen capital is under way practically at full scale. The outskirts are under uninterrupted attack from virtually all directions.”

But a spokesman for Russia’s army said there was no fighting in the city. The army has said it has no plans to storm Grozny.

The army spokesman also said by telephone in Moscow that Russian forces had rescued the pilot of a jet that crashed in the mountains on Monday, but two helicopters had crashed during the operation and the crew of one was killed. Kavkaz.org said Chechen fighters had shot down two planes and three helicopters.