There have been reports of fierce fighting this morning close to the Chechen capital, Grozny, in spite of a claim by Russian forces to have surrounded the city. Russian television and news agencies said there was heavy shelling to the Southwest of the capital, while air attacks were continuing. Yesterday Russia's top military commander in the region, General Viktor Kazantsev, said his troops had completed their encirclement of Grozny.
However, the announcement was overshadowed by unconfirmed claims that Russian troops massacred an unarmed group of refugees on Friday. Soldiers are alleged to have shot dead more than 35 refugees as they travelled to the neighbouring state of Ingushetia. The killings have been strongly denied by Russian officials, who suggested Chechen fighters may have carried them out as an act of provocation.
