MOSCOW, Nov. 29 -- An airstrike was reported Tuesday on the capital of the separatist Chechen province of southern Russia, but the Russian Defense Ministry denied ordering the attack that came hours after President Boris Yeltsin issued an ultimatum for the warring sides to lay down their arms or face a Russian military intervention. Chechen separatist leaders rejected Yeltsin's ultimatum late Tuesday. 'The Russian armed forces have nothing to do with today's bomb and missile strike at Grozny,' the Defense Ministry press office said in a statement. The Chechenpress agency said four fighters strafed the capital and that one was shot down. Interfax quoted a Chechen defense official saying the planes had Russian markings. There were no other confirmed reports of damage or casualties or information about the origin of the planes. After the attack was reported Tuesday afternoon, Yeltsin convened his Security Council for the second meeting in two days to deal with the Chechen crisis. Yeltsin's ultimatum issued early Tuesday was broadcast in the self- proclaimed independent Chechen republic, 1,420 miles (2,285 km) south of Moscow, where supporters and opponents of the Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev have engaged in fierce fighting. The separatist territory of southern Russia was calm when Yeltsin's message went out threatening to use force to stop the conflict and restore order. The Kremlin's strongest words to date on its unruly province follow the fiercest fighting since Dudayev proclaimed the Chechen republic independent three years ago as the Soviet Union was collapsing.
The Chechen government rejected Yeltsin's ultimatum and said it would act to protect the breakaway region's independence and territorial integrity. Yeltsin's threat to send troops came after an urgent meeting Monday of the Russian Security Council and after leaders of other territories of the Caucasus appealed to the Russian president to stop the bloodshed in the neighboring Chechen republic, where there was heavy fighting over the weekend. 'The situation in the Chechen republic is becoming aggravated day by day, hour by hour,' said a statement by eight regional leaders in southern Russia's Caucasus. 'There is a civil war on the territory of the Russian Federation and civilian blood is being spilled.' Yeltsin's ultimatum -- giving all sides 48 hours to quit the conflict or face Russian army intervention -- came after Chechen leaders had accused Russia of militarily siding with the forces trying to topple Dudayev. The Chechen government claimed that in weekend battles it had captured Russian soldiers and threatened to execute them while vowing to punish Chechen rebels under Islamic law. While denying official involvement, Russia has said mercenaries have joined the fight. Dudayev said his forces were being joined by fighters from neighboring regions of the Caucasus. 'Blood is being spilt on the ancient Caucasian soil, which is an inalienable part of our homeland,' Yeltsin said of the Chechen territory whose leaders have acted apart from Russia with impunity for three years. Previous efforts to stop the conflict have failed and 'the armed clashes are growing larger and fiercer,' Yeltsin said. 'The conflicting sides are recruiting mercenaries, including from foreign lands.' Yeltsin said, 'Innocent people are being killed through the fault of irresponsible politicians for the sake of their selfish interests and unappeaseable ambitions.' The stridently anti-Yeltsin Chechen leader Dudayev is a former Soviet air force pilot who runs his small territory like a fiefdom. His leading opponents in the region are Ruslan Khasbulatov, another Yeltsin foe who led last year's uprising in Moscow, and a man with a reputation as a bandit chieftain Ruslan Labanzanov. In recent months the Kremlin has made it clear that it sides with a provisional council headed by Umar Avturkhanov that has vowed to take power from Dudayev. But the Kremlin statement took no sides. 'There are no hopes left for an independent settlement of the inter- Chechen conflict,' Yeltsin said. 'The situation is becoming exceedingly dangerous for our society's stability and peace, for the vital interests and national security of Russia.' Said Yeltsin, 'I hereby serve warning to all sides involved in the armed confrontation in the Chechen republic and demand that they stop fire, lay down arms, disband all armed units, release all the captured and forcibly detained citizens within 48 hours of the time of my appeal. ' Failure to obey, said Yeltsin, means 'all the forces and means of our state will be used to stop the bloodshed, to defend lives, rights and liberties of the people of Russia, to restore constitutional legality, law and order and peace in the Chechen republic.' In Grozny, Dudayev supporters responded to Yeltsin's words by rallying in the capital pledging to back the Chechen leader. Interfax quoted a Dudayev aide as saying Yeltsin's call for an end to the fighting was instead turning the region into an armed camp.
moscow xxx is being spilled. Yeltsin's ultimatum -- giving all sides 48 hours to quit the conflict or face Russian army intervention -- came after Chechen leaders had accused Russia of militarily siding with the forces trying to topple Dudayev. The Chechen government claimed that in weekend battles it had captured Russian soldiers and threatened to execute them while vowing to punish Chechen rebels under Islamic law. While denying official involvement, Russia has said mercenaries have joined the fight. Dudayev said his forces were being joined by fighters from neighboring regions of the Caucasus. 'Blood is being spilt on the ancient Caucasian soil, which is an inalienable part of our homeland,' Yeltsin said of the Chechen territory whose leaders have acted apart from Russia with impunity for three years. Previous efforts to stop the conflict have failed and 'the armed clashes are growing larger and fiercer,' Yeltsin said. 'The conflicting sides are recruiting mercenaries, including from foreign lands.' Yeltsin said, 'Innocent people are being killed through the fault of irresponsible politicians for the sake of their selfish interests and unappeaseable ambitions.' The stridently anti-Yeltsin Chechen leader Dudayev is a former Soviet air force pilot who runs his small territory like a fiefdom. His leading opponents in the region are Ruslan Khasbulatov, another Yeltsin foe who led last year's uprising in Moscow, and a man with a reputation as a bandit chieftain Ruslan Labanzanov. In recent months the Kremlin has made it clear that it sides with a provisional council headed by Umar Avturkhanov that has vowed to take power from Dudayev. But the Kremlin statement took no sides. 'There are no hopes left for an independent settlement of the inter- Chechen conflict,' Yeltsin said. 'The situation is becoming exceedingly dangerous for our society's stability and peace, for the vital interests and national security of Russia.' Said Yeltsin, 'I hereby serve warning to all sides involved in the armed confrontation in the Chechen republic and demand that they stop fire, lay down arms, disband all armed units, release all the captured and forcibly detained citizens within 48 hours of the time of my appeal. ' Failure to obey, said Yeltsin, means 'all the forces and means of our state will be used to stop the bloodshed, to defend lives, rights and liberties of the people of Russia, to restore constitutional legality, law and order and peace in the Chechen republic.' In Grozny, Dudayev supporters responded to Yeltsin's words by rallying in the capital pledging to back the Chechen leader. Interfax quoted a Dudayev aide as saying Yeltsin's call for an end to the fighting was instead turning the region into an armedcamp.
