GROZNY, Russia (AP) -- Seeking to encircle Chechnya's capital, Russia's military pummeled the nearby city of Urus-Martan Tuesday with a barrage of artillery rounds and rockets.
During lulls in the shelling, the rattle of automatic weapons fire could be heard around the city as Russian troops tried to advance from the west. Urus-Martan, 12 miles southwest of the capital, Grozny, lies along a major supply route to rebel strongholds in the mountains of southern Chechnya.Russian forces already have closed in on the Chechen capital from the north, west and east and are attempting to take control of the city's main southern approach.
The Russian military said Chechen resistance had increased but that the militants had not scored any major gains. The Chechens have previously retreated rather than wage full-scale battles against the much larger and more powerful Russian forces, but they have been fiercely defending Urus-Martan for the past week.
The Russians, meanwhile, have been intensifying their attacks and showed no sign of easing up despite the arrival of European diplomats calling for a negotiated solution.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek, chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, arrived in Moscow on Monday and met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. But he received no guarantees that he would be allowed to travel to Chechnya or neighboring regions in the Caucasus Mountains.
Ivanov said only that the Russian government would "consider" such a trip. He gave no timetable for a visit to the region.
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer criticized Russia Tuesday for not setting a date for the OSCE visit. They called on Russia to allow humanitarian aid into the region and said they were "shocked by the consequences of the repression on the civilian population."
Russian forces have battered Chechnya since August in an effort to wipe out separatist Islamic militants it blames for invasions of neighboring Dagestan and apartment bombings that killed 300 people in several Russian cities in September. The government says the campaign is an internal matter and that it does not intend to negotiate with the Chechens until the militants are defeated.
China offered Russia support today. "The Chinese side is always opposed to terrorism of any kind," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi. "The Russian government has tried to avoid civilian casualties in its combat of terrorism."
The fighting has caused massive destruction in Chechnya, a republic already devastated by a 1994-96 war in which it won de facto independence from Russia. Some 233,000 refugees -- almost a third of Chechnya's population -- have fled the latest fighting.
Alvaro Gil-Robles, the Council of Europe's highest human rights official, traveled today to Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya, to inspect conditions at refugee camps, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.
Ingushetia has been the main destination for refugees, and President Ruslan Aushev said supplies were slow in arriving and conditions were growing worse.
"There is a shortage of baby food and especially medicines," he said.
Russian aircraft carried out 95 sorties Monday, hitting Urus-Martan and targeting the towns of Chiri-Yurt and Stary Atagi, as well as Argun and Alkhazurovo, according to the Interfax news agency. Casualty figures were not immediately available.
Also Monday, Russian jets dumped leaflets on the city promising any remaining civilians a safe corridor out. In brief intervals between strikes, civilians emerged from shelters to fetch water and food.
"It's like an endless lottery, with death being the only stake. Every day brings new death," said Marzhan Khakimova, a 72-year-old woman living in a Grozny basement.