Even when the facilities are the same, civilians live better than soldiers.

They said only a few civilians were living in the two pockets where most of the fighting will probably take place.

Nobody knows for sure how many civilians, who include ethnic Russians, still live in the city.

"If the civilians hadn't lived there, they wouldn't have been killed," he said.

China Lake allowed both civilians and military to live side-by-side in government housing.

About 5,000 military personnel and civilians normally live here.

Residents said troops were unable to return fire for fear of causing casualties among the 1,000 or so civilians living in the building.

No casualty figures were available, but civilians living near the headquarters fled.

The town here disappeared years ago as this became a war zone, and there is no sign that civilians once lived here.

The siege also meant that civilians were living in very crowded, unsanitary conditions.