Muslim Chechen volunteers, loyal to Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev, pray before leaving to guard the city near the presidential palace in Grozny, Russia, Friday, Dec. 2, 1994. Dudayev, who declared independence for his Caucasus Mountain republic in 1991, says Moscow is arming and leading the rebels. Yeltsin's government had denied providing anything but political support, even as jets have attacked and Russian soldiers have been captured. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)