CHECHNYA: REBELS CLAIM TO HAVE REPULSED RUSSIAN ATTACK

(18 Dec 1999) Russian/Nat Chechen rebels on Saturday claimed to have repulsed a Russian assault on a strategic hill in Grozny. Russian armour assaulted rebel defences around the capital and artillery barrages rained on the already flattened capital. But the rebels said they drove back the attack, killing a number of Russian soldiers. Behind the frontline, Russian soldiers prepare for their next battle. Tanks and vehicles are repaired, their camp maintained. The relative calm of the Russian base belies what is happening on the outskirts of the Chechen capital, Grozny. On Friday, rebels said they repelled several Russian attacks from the north and claimed a number of Russian casualties. The Russian military gave few details of the latest fighting, reporting that only two soldiers were killed recently. But as in the past, reports coming out of Chechnya were at odds with what reporters and others witnessed. An Associated