RUSSIA: CHECHNYA: RUSSIAN TROOPS POISED FOR OFFENSIVE

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Russian troops look as if they could be poised to launch an offensive against Chechen strongholds in the separatist republic.

A column of Russian armoured vehicles has advanced towards rebel-held territory in eastern Chechnya.

The advance came as two more Russian soldiers were killed and another five injured by rebel fighters.

A valley in eastern Chechnya rings with the drone of a helicopter gunship and the blast of its rockets.

Firing to ward off ambushes, the helicopter is escorting a Russian armoured column closer to the Chechen frontline.

At the end of the recent hostage crisis in Dagestan, an impatient Boris Yeltsin vowed to attack Chechen strongholds and crush remaining armed resistance.

Villagers and rebel fighters looked on as tanks took up positions overlooking the hamlet of Mairtup ().

Avoiding a confrontation for now, the fighters stayed in the background as a delegation of villagers and elders set off to try to convince the Russians to back off.

The column had been ordered to advance ten kilometres to high ground overlooking the village.

Talks between village elders and senior officers broke down - the Russians simply said that they were under orders to occupy the hill.

As villagers and soldiers eyed one another across no man's land, a few Chechens knelt in prayer.

Following the Dagestan hostage crisis, Yeltsin has repeatedly threatened to knock out remaining Chechen strongholds.

In a country tired of daily reports of bloodshed in the Caucasus, the gamble could backfire.

But by moving troops up to the front, the Kremlin is keeping its options open.
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