Russia, Rebels Battle on 1st Day of Chechen Vote

Rebels seized key buildings in Chechnya’s second-largest city Thursday and fought advancing Russian armored troops on the first day of elections to replace the republic’s secessionist government.

As many as 600 rebels were engaged in a fierce battle with federal troops in and around Gudermes, 20 miles east of the Chechen capital, Grozny, Russian officials said.

Helicopter gunships and artillery hit rebel positions on the outskirts of Gudermes in some of the worst fighting in Chechnya in months.

Polls opened in Chechnya on Thursday for an election that the Kremlin called to choose a new leader for the southern republic and new deputies to Russia’s parliament.

The rebels have demanded that Russian soldiers withdraw before elections. It was widely expected that the rebels would disrupt the balloting.

Doku Zavgayev, head of the Cabinet, is the main candidate in the leadership race. Former President Dzhokar M. Dudayev, who declared independence after he was elected in 1991, has taken refuge in the mountains where he commands a band of rebels.

In Gudermes on Thursday, the command of Interior Ministry troops reported 12 Russian soldiers killed, more than 20 wounded and several dozen missing. Some news reports put the number of Russians wounded at 50. At least 10 rebels were also reported killed.