RUSSIAN planes bombed several villages in southeast Chechnya late yesterday in violation of a ceasefire and a day before peace talks were due to resume, a Chechen separatist spokesman said.
If the bombing raids are confirmed it would be the first major violation of a ceasefire accord signed by President Yeltsin and the Chechen rebel leader, Mr Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, a week ago.
Aircraft were reported to have bombed the villages of Shuyani and Zhani Vedeno in an attack which started at 9:45 p.m. and lasted 25 minutes. There was reported to be extensive damage.
Mr Tim Guldimann, head of the Chechnya mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, witnessed the bombing.
The reported attack came hours after separatist leaders had agreed to resume peace talks with Moscow and Russian forces had lifted the three day blockade of Shali.
Talks had been in the balance as both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire. It was not immediately clear what effect the reported bombing would have.
A spokesman for the Russian commission on the Chechen conflict said negotiations would restart today in Nazran, capital of the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. He said they would centre on implementation of the ceasefire accord, and in particular on an exchange of prisoners which was supposed to take place within a fortnight of the signing but which has not yet started.
Federal troops meanwhile lifted the blockade of Shali which they imposed on Friday when they called on independence fighters they said were in the town to give up their arms.
However, civilian authorities insisted there were no rebel fighters present, and Chechens said the blockade was a "provocation" that threatened peace talks resuming.
People interviewed near Grozny on the road from Shali, 35km to the south east, said they had been able to come and go to the town without hindrance yesterday.
"I went there (Shali) by car and came back this afternoon. Everything in the town is normal and I didn't see either soldiers or independence fighters," said policeman Sharpudy Makayev.
The peace talks had been due to restart Saturday in Makhachkala in Dagestan, but were cancelled for "technical reasons" as both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire, which took effect at midnight Friday.
Mr Guldimann spent the day in Grozny trying to persuade both sides to restart their dialogue, informed sources said.
However peace in the Caucasus republic remained in the balance, according to a source close to the negotiations.
"We're at the most delicate stage. Nobody trusts anyone and the least wrong move could make everything collapse," the source said.