-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! Tuesday, November 30 1:33 AM SGT Chechens surprise with counter-attack, Russians admit heavy losses GROZNY, Russia, Nov 29 (AFP) - Chechen fighters seized the initiative Monday, taking a second village as fierce fighting flared on the eastern front and a top general admitted heavy losses in recent clashes. In Moscow, Russia slapped down talk of a mediation role for the OSCE in resolving the conflict, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek leaving without a date for an OSCE mission to the region. After weeks of setbacks, Grozny said its troops had extended a weekend counter-attack, capturing the village of Noibyora 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Grozny on Monday. The settlement, near the Russian-controlled second city of Gudermes, is close to Novogroznensky which was snatched by Chechen troops at the weekend. Moscow declined to comment the report, but insisted its troops had regained control of Novogroznensky. Russian television showed Russian armour patrolling the zone as helicopter gunships buzzed overhead in the hunt for Chechen fighters who hit an Mi-8 attack helicopter, killing the pilot. Both sides reported heavy fighting around Alleroi, 10 kilometres from Chechnya's eastern border with the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan. Intense clashes were also reported around Alkhan-Yurt, a village at the southwestern gates of Grozny, and the key bastion of Urus-Martan, 20 kilometres southwest of the capital. The flurry of skirmishes came as Russian Chief of Staff General Valery Manilov said 12 paratroopers had died near the village of Kharachoi, in the southeastern Vedeno district, fiefdom of leading Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev. "Our kids were forced to fight to the end. Out of 14 people, 12 people died," he said of the November 17 clash. The toll is the heaviest admitted by Russian commanders from a single battle with the Chechens in the current campaign. A rebel field commander told AFP on November 22 that Chechen forces had killed more than 200 Russians near Kharachoi and produced a video showing some 40 corpses in Russian uniform and two prisoners. The Chechen thrust signalled a switch in tactics, the outgunned guerrillas until now having avoided pitched battles with Russian troops who rolled into the rebel republic on October 1. Russian generals have relied on massive aerial and artillery superiority to push back the rebels, rather than risk a repeat of street battles which led to disastrous losses in the 1994-96 war between the two sides. Despite the setbacks, Russia's official envoy to Chechnya Nikolai Koshman predicted federal troops would control two-thirds of Chechnya, including Grozny, by December 20. Russian forces, who currently control more than half of the republic, continued to pound Urus-Martan, which guards vital escape routes from Grozny. Russian generals had hoped to take the town last week. Federal aircraft carried out 50 air raids in Chechnya Monday after more than more than 200 raids on Chechen positions at the weekend. Chechen officials say Grozny and Urus-Martan have been 80 percent destroyed by the relentless onslaught which has left more than 4,500 people dead. Grozny's mayor said Saturday that 260 people had been killed in the preceding 48 hours, in some of the heaviest bombing yet of the capital. Reports of Russian disregard for civilian casualties have prompted sharp criticism from the West, including Vollebaek, the current chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. But the official, in Moscow to discuss an OSCE mission to the region, left empty handed and with a Russia rejection of any OSCE mediation role ringing in his ears. "I would not be honest if I said that I'm satisfied with my achievements," Vollebaek said ahead of his departure for the United States. His host Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, bluntly said Moscow "does not need mediation to resolve this problem." It was not clear when the issue would be discussed again. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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