Russia said Friday its forces had taken the last major rebel base in Chechnya, putting more than two-thirds of the breakaway region under the Kremlin's control.
A defense ministry spokesman said Russian troops had seized the town of Shali, southeast of the shattered capital Grozny, and now controlled all strategic points in Chechnya."The remaining points pose no serious obstacles and problems for the Russian troops," the spokesman added.
Itar-Tass news agency quoted a spokesman at the Russian command headquarters in Mozdok, north of the Chechen region, as saying Shali fell at 2 p.m. (3 a.m. MST).
Interfax news agency said Shali had been taken without a fight. According to Russian news reports from Chechnya, most of the forces of rebel leader Dzhokhar Dudayev left Shali last week after days of heavy shelling.
The reports could not be confirmed independently, and there was no news from the Chechen side.
Earlier, Tass said Russian forces had given rebels in Shali until 10 a.m. (1 a.m. EST) to lay down their arms or face attack.
Thursday Russia said its troops had captured the rebel stronghold of Gudermes, Chechnya's second biggest town 45 km (30 miles) east of Grozny.
If Shali and Gudermes are in Russian hands, Moscow's forces would control some 80 percent of rebel-held territory in Chechnya.
But the conflict, which has killed several thousand people, displaced many more civilians and isolated President Boris Yeltsin at home and abroad, is unlikely to come to a quick end.
Chechen independence fighters have said they might eventually wage a guerrilla war from the Caucasus mountains in southern Chechnya, where narrow, winding passes would make it difficult for Russian troops to deploy tanks and armored cars.