The state of emergency will allow ministers extraordinary measures to mobilize the Chechen armed forces. "Only the Chechen government and president can save the state and protect itself with the will of the people," the decree said.
Dudayev, who declared independence from Moscow for his small Caucasian stronghold in 1991, is facing a Moscow-backed rebel attempt to overthrow his regime.
Opposition forces claimed Tuesday they now held all territory but the immediate area around the capital Grozny.
Fighting in the region has waxed and waned in intensity for months, with days of violence and high tension followed by strange lulls.
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