The head of the Russian air force, Col Gen Anatoly Kornukov, said yesterday that "powerful weapons" may be used against Chechen insurgents in the mountainous southern part of the territory.
His statement has raised fears that powerful "fuel-air bombs", equivalent in their devastating effect to tactical nuclear weapons, may be used in Chechnya.
"We possess means of destruction that are more effective than those being used at the moment. We may use them to annihilate rebels in the mountains," Col Gen Kornukov told the Russian news agency Interfax.
Reports that these bombs have already been used in mountainous areas have been denied by Russian military sources. Fuel-air bombs spread an aerosol cloud over large areas. When ignited, the cloud produces massive downward pressure, pulverising everything beneath it including buildings, cellars and bunkers. While not specifically banned by the Geneva Convention, observers believe their use in areas inhabited by civilians would entail a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
According to Ms Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch (HRW), many Chechen civilians' lives would be in danger if such a weapon were used.
AFP adds:
The heaviest fighting in Grozny yesterday, where an estimated 2,000 fighters are thought to be dug in, came in the western districts of the city as well as the suburb of Staraya Sunzha, where rebels claimed to have made gains.
Russian rocket-launchers rained down artillery shells on the city centre while warplanes pummelled the edges of the shelled-out capital from the air.
Chechen fighters were also reported to have unsuccessfully tried to break Russia's line of defence at a key supply route leading into Georgia.
