Assault in Chechnya Fails
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GROZNY, Russia — A major offensive by the Russian-backed opposition Saturday failed to wrest Grozny, the capital of the breakaway region of Chechnya, from government control.
The presidential palace, which the opposition had claimed to seize earlier Saturday, was swarming with government officials and heavily armed supporters of President Dzhokhar Dudayev.
The government said the opposition fighters were mostly Russians and that 300 of the 350 opposition soldiers killed were Russian.
In a telephone interview, Dudayev vowed to continue fighting.
“If Russia continues this path, we have no other option,” he said.
Claims of Russian involvement in the fighting could not be verified immediately.
Chechnya, a mostly Muslim area of 1.2 million in the Caucasus Mountains, declared independence in 1991. Dudayev loyalists say Moscow wants to oust the former Soviet air force general so Chechnya will return to the Kremlin’s fold.
Moscow, which backs the opposition politically and reportedly gives financial support, has denied providing any military help.
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