Russia says its forces have attacked rebel positions in southern Chechnya and closed off the republic's southern border to stop rebels escaping. The Russian military command said three attempts by militants to flee south to Georgia had been repulsed.

Jets and helicopter gunships have attacked three rebel bases in the southern mountains, while the Itar-Tass news agency reported that paratroopers had sealed a key rebel supply route in the southern Argun gorge leading to Georgia.

Fighting has also been raging around the capital, Grozny, where many people are still trapped.

Click here to see a map of Grozny and surrounding areas

About 100,000 Russian troops are reported to be deployed around the city in readiness for an assault which is expected any day now.

A BBC correspondent in the region says most people believe that the question is not whether the Russians can take Grozny, but when and at what cost.

US criticism

The rebels, however, say they are firmly in control and have enough food and ammunition to hold out for three months.

Civilians have been fleeing Grozny reporting a merciless Russian artillery bombardment, despite US warnings that Russia is failing to observe international human rights standards.

US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott criticised Russian military tactics after talks with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in Moscow.

He said Washington supported the fight against global terrorism, but wanted Russia to deal with the problem "in a fashion that meets international norms".

This, he said, was something Moscow was felt not to have done.

However, the Russian commander in Chechnya, Colonel-General Viktor Kazantsev, predicted military victory in the south by mid-January.

"Within a mere two weeks, three at most, we are planning to establish full control of the mountain areas of Chechnya," he said.

But Turpal Atgeriyev, Chechnya's State Security Minister, told Chechen television that fighters had enough ammunition and food to hold out in Grozny for three months.

And Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov has denied reports that he has ordered fighters to abandon Grozny and retreat to the mountains.

The units defending Grozny "are doing their job", he said, according to Interfax news agency.

"There is a clear-cut defence plan and every commander has a written order specifying the details."

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