RUSSIA: CHECHNYA: RUSSIANS MOUNT HEAVY ATTACK ON GROZNY

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Russian planes and guns pounded the Chechen capital again on Friday.

Heavy air and artillery attacks mainly targeted the presidential palace and a nearby bridge.

There are unconfirmed reports that the Chechen leader General Dudayev has left Grozny for a mountain command post.

A Moscow newspaper says that at least 18-hundred Russian soldiers and two-thousand Chechen fighters have been killed in the conflict so far.

The bombardments continue unabated.

Russian troops appear to be aiming most of their fire at the presidential building and a nearby bridge.

The attacks on the bridge leading to the palace have left the building all but inaccessible.

The Russian government press service claims Russian troops are advancing toward the centre and have taken over a military college building near the palace.

However, many of the government's past claims have proven false.

But the fighting is intense, as these amateur video pictures show.

They were shot by a Chechen fighter, who left his camera on the window sill of the presidential palace over the New Year weekend to record the ferocity of the battle for Grozny.

Many buildings are now ablaze in the city, creating a blanket of thick smoke over Grozny.

And emotions run high as residents find their homes all but destroyed.

Meanwhile, there is evidence of Russian plans for even harsher attacks.

Russian lawmaker Ayvars Lezdinsh claims that a division of Russian paratroopers is moving into place near Grozny from the north-west.

As the battle continues, the "Moscow News" newspaper has reported that at least 18-hundred Russian soldiers and about two-thousand Chechen fighters have been killed in the month-old conflict.

But the casualty figures cannot be independently confirmed.
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