Chechen Rebels to Withdraw from Encircled Cities

Chechen rebels are considering to withdraw their forces from the encircled Chechen cities to Azerbaijan and Georgia and form a government in exile, said the Russian military on November 10.

Over the past 24 hours, the rebels have made four attempts to break out of Gudermes, the second largest city of the breakaway republic, which is encircled by the eastern grouping, but were bombarded by federal artillery, with 10 rebels killed, said the temporary press center for the federal forces' eastern grouping in the North Caucasus.

Despite the cloudy and snowy weather in Chechnya, Russian federal planes flew over 30 missions against rebel formations in the past 24 hours, reported the Interfax news agency, citing the Russian forces headquarters.

Su-24 bombers and Su-25 assault planes have attacked rebel bases near Bamut, Duba-Yurt and Chishki. Mi-24 helicopters have also flown 18 combat missions, firing missiles on rebel positions on the outskirts of Grozny, the military said.

According to preliminary reports, federal aircraft destroyed eight rebel strongholds, a telephone exchange, a command post and seven vehicles, damaged a bridge, mined almost 20 kilometers of road and created three blockages in the mountains.


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