Russia has rejected appeals to withdraw its "leave-or-die" ultimatum to the remaining inhabitants of Grozny. Instead senior politicians accused the International Monetary Fund of playing politics and told Western leaders their interests would be better served by putting pressure on Chechen rebels than on the Russian government.
Russian aircraft dropped leaflets on Grozny on Monday, telling residents they had until Saturday to leave the city or face obliteration by "artillery and aviation". The demand drew widespread condemnation from world leaders, including President Clinton, the EU Council of Ministers and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The IMF yesterday told the Russian government it was postponing a loan of $640 million because Russia had not set up necessary economic structures. The IMF's managing director, Mr Michel Camdessus, earlier expressed misgivings about making payments to Russia while the Chechen war is in progress.
In Geneva, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ms Sadako Ogata, expressed doubt and concern that Grozny's remaining residents could beat the deadline set by the Russian military.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers issued a statement warning Moscow that its military campaign "and the unacceptable threat to the people of Grozny can only perpetuate, not break, the cycle of violence in the Northern Caucasus".
A report issued yesterday by the Human Rights Watch organisation painted a grim picture of life in Grozny from interviews it had conducted with more than a dozen civilians who escaped from the city in the past two days and crossed into the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia.
Most of those remaining in Grozny are, according to the report, old, infirm, poor or wounded and have been pinned down in the basements of apartment blocks for weeks by bombing and artillery fire.
In the harsh winter, the city has been without electricity, gas, running water or heating and dangerous journeys of up to three miles have to be made under heavy bombardment in order to get fresh water supplies. The main site for water within the city, the Groznenskoye water storage tank, was destroyed by bombs on November 29th.
China yesterday said it "understood the efforts made by Russia to maintain its national unification and territorial integrity".
