At Least 30 Chechens Killed in Fighting, Russians Say

Russian forces killed more than 30 Chechen rebels Saturday, Russian officials said, and the defense minister acknowledged that the situation in the mountainous republic is deteriorating.

Intense fighting early Saturday south and west of the Chechen capital, Grozny, killed three Russian soldiers and wounded six, the military command told Russian news agencies.

In Shatoi, a village 28 miles south of Grozny where separatists have put up stiff resistance, military officials said they killed about 30 rebels. Three Russians were killed, they told the Interfax and Itar-Tass news agencies.

The other major clash was near Achkhoi-Martan, 15 miles southwest of Grozny, where Interior Ministry troops claimed to have thwarted a raid and killed several Chechens.

Further to the west at Bamut, the Russians said they destroyed an observation post, killing two Chechen fighters.

Russian Defense Minister Pavel S. Grachev acknowledged that the situation in the republic in the Caucasus Mountains is worsening. There are virtually no efforts to renew talks to end the 13-month-old war, which has claimed more than 20,000 lives.

A rebel offensive in the town of Gudermes last month led to 10 days of fighting that claimed the lives of an estimated 300 civilians and dozens of Russian troops.

Grachev blamed rebel leader Dzhokar M. Dudayev for the increased fighting.

“A period when Dudayev’s militants can launch large-scale military actions has come,” Grachev told Interfax. “Bandits have readied military equipment and arms and recruited mercenaries.”

On Friday, security services in the ethnic republic of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, detained four Russian border guards, including an officer, who reportedly planned to sell 35 crates of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to the rebels.

Meanwhile, Russian Orthodox worshipers across the country marked the beginning of their Christmas holiday Saturday with church services and their leader’s wishes for peace--especially in war-weary Chechnya.

The Russian Orthodox Church uses a different religious calendar from Roman Catholics and Protestants and celebrates Christmas today.

Patriarch Alexy II addressed followers with a traditional televised message Saturday, wishing every family “peace, good health and well-being.”

“Let the New Year be a year of peace and well-being for our homeland too,” Alexy said.