Chechens Again Call for Talks, Say 39 Killed in Russian Attacks

Russian warplanes and artillery pummeled towns around Grozny and other parts of Chechnya on Sunday, and Chechen officials claimed at least 39 people had been killed and dozens more injured in the attacks.

The Russian military acknowledged that it fired missiles at targets around the southwestern towns of Bamut and Achkhoi-Martan but said they were aimed at rebel military positions.

Chechen leaders again called for peace talks with Russia, demanding that they be held on neutral territory with international mediation.

“The conditions for the peace talks are a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, or Russia’s complete capitulation,” Chechen Vice President Vakha Arsanov said.

The Chechen military reported that the Russians “heavily pounded” villages to the north and east of Grozny. It said that a predawn Russian rocket attack on the town of Vedeno, southeast of the capital, had killed 23 people and wounded 58.

Russian artillery also targeted the village of Samashki, near Chechnya’s western border, killing 16 people and injuring 41 others, the Chechens said.

The casualty figures could not be confirmed, and the Russian command did not offer any estimates of its own. It stressed that the attacks were aimed at militants rather than civilians.

The Chechens did not say if the casualties included rebel fighters.