MOSCOW/DUBA-YURT, DECEMBER 23: Russian warplanes and artillery continued to pound Grozny today, bombing targets throughout the besieged Chechen capital, ORT television reported.Meanwhile, armed clashes were reported between Russian troops and Muslim rebels on the outskirts. An ORT correspondent also spoke of sporadic street fighting in the city centre.There had been increasing signs on Wednesday that Russian troops would soon move in to seize Grozny. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in Moscow that an end to the war in the breakaway republic was close at hand.``The end of the war is near although we do not want to name a specific date,'' Putin said after talks with president Boris Yeltsin. The planning was not however driven by ``anniversaries'', he said, a reference to the Russian's new year's day attack on Grozny in 1995. Meanwhile, south of Grozny, in the rugged fog-bound mountains bordering Georgia, rebels battled Russian paratroopers trying to cut their supply routes and claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.Despite the Russian forces surrounding Grozny, the rebels claim they have been able to continue to get supplies into the capital. The desire to cut those supply routes has prompted Russia to send troops into the mountains even though they are more vulnerable to the Chechens' guerrilla skills there than they are on flatter terrain.Russia has taken control of most of Chechnya since sending in ground troops in September to wipe out Islamic militants. But the rebels still are strong in Grozny and the mountains - both are as where rebels severely bloodied Russian forces in the 1994-96 war.Hoping to avoid a similar debacle, Russia has battered Grozny by warplane and artillery for weeks but held back from storming the city. "Shells were exploding in practically the entire city"during the pre-dawn hours, said Grozny mayor Lecha Dudayev.A huge plume of black smoke loomed over Grozny, visible from 60 kilometres away.
