(11 Jan 1995) Russian/Nat
General Dudayev's offer of peace talks came as gunfire continued throughout his capital Grozny, despite a ceasefire ordered by Moscow.
President Dudayev may have offered to hold peace talks Wednesday, but across his capital shots echoed through the streets.
Chechen fighters blasted rounds of gunfire in the air.
The ceasefire was all but forgotten.
Shelling rocked the remains of the presidential palace, the symbol of Chechen independence.
During a lull in the fighting Chechen rebels scrambled to reinforce the collapsing building.
Russia has sent more troops into Chechnya but the spirits of the defenders of Grozny, old and young, appear to remain high.
They will fight, say their leaders, until the bitter end.
SOUNDBITE:
"We will stay for our independence, till our death."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Arsanmukaev, Military Commander of the Chechen Republic
But it may not come to that.
Dudayev said the civil war in Chechnya could be solved in just one hour, if Boris Yeltsin is willing to talk.
The spirit of the Chechens, says Dudayev, can never be broken.
But the Chechen capital is a scorched wasteland.
Civilians somehow eke out an existence.
Food is in dangerously short supply. Hungry people crowd round vans making rare deliveries of bread.
Those left in Grozny are gathering their families together preparing to leave.
They face a long walk to shelters in the countryside.
A short break in the fighting allowed people out to fetch water.
But it was a dangerous journey, which could be ended at any time by gunfire.
SOUNDBITE:
"I came here for the third time. It is necessary to stay in line for three hours to get water."
SUPER CAPTION: Grozny resident
Essential services are wrecked.
Gas pipes still blaze and many houses are no more than burning rubble.
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Негізгі бет RUSSIA: CHECHNYA: GROZNY: LATEST SITUATION
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