(10 Jan 1995) Russian/Nat

The ceasefire between Russian troops and Chechen rebels ended soon after it began today (Tuesday).

The 48-hour lull was meant to allow both sides to remove their dead, but heavy shelling and small-arms quickly filled the capital again.

For Grozny's remaining residents, the Chechen capital has become a hell on earth.

The sign says Welcome to Hell.

For the residents that remain stranded, Grozny has indeed become hell on earth.

The rumble of tanks has replaced the hum of car traffic on the deserted streets of the Chechen capital.

Weary Chechens read of the ever mounting death toll in local newspapers.

SOUNDBITE:
"Yesterday he went to Mozdoh with humanitarian aid and came inside warehouses. There were a lot of dead Russian soldiers. One has a number 7001."
SUPER CAPTION: Chechen man reading newspaper

Wounded civilians, the Chechens believe, are evidence that Russia is violating the code of human rights.

While the US and European officials have spoken out against Moscow's violent use of military power to crush the independence drive in Chechnya, they define the war as a "domestic affair".

But the US is putting increasing pressure on Moscow to curb the violence and halt the bloodshed.

US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot arrived in Brussels today for emergency talks with Russia's deputy foreign minister Georgy Mamedov.

In Grozny, the Chechens remain committed to independence but troops and civilians are growing weary.

Bombing and the burst of gun fire has reduced the presidential palace, a symbol of Chechen independence, to ruin.

The entire top left hand corner of the 9-storey building has been shot away but the Russians have yet to seize it.

Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev has fled the building. He made a brief appearance on Chechen television last night. His message was that, despite the casualties and the irreparable damage, the Chechens will continue to resist.

Dudayev's exact whereabouts are still unclear.

His palace now serves as a holding place for Russian dead. Prisoners are kept in the basement.

Meanwhile, the city burns. Grozny has been reduced to a mess of smoke, mud and drizzle.

The roads are filled with craters. Streets are littered with debris of war - dead bodies and burned out tanks.

In between the ruins, the Chechens that remain trapped in Grozny are getting on with life.

Chechen tanks continue to patrol.

But supplies of food are running dangerously low. Civilians are desperately calling out to Western nations to help them in their struggle for independence.

SOUNDBITE:
"I am asking for help from the authorities. We need at least 10 loads of bread everyday."
SUPER CAPTION: Chechen lady

Chechen defenders still control the centre of Grozny. But their territory is said to be dwindling.

The purpose of Talbot's talk with Mamedov, scheduled for tomorrow, is to prepare for a meeting to be held next week in Geneva between US Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev.

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