General Aslambek Aslakhanov, a native Chechen who is a professor at the ministry's military academy, told a press conference that President Dzhokhar Dudayev, who led the North Caucasus republic's break with Moscow in 1991, would not "voluntarily leave office." He added: "Bloody conflicts are inevitable."
The opposition Provisional Council claims to have taken control of the republic but the Dudayev is continuing to rule.
He warned against armed Russian intervention, saying it would help Dudayev to unite forces including the opposition around his team: "The military way can lead to the beginning of a North Caucasus war."
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