The best indications Sunday were that federal troops continued to move slowly into secessionist Eastern Nigeria, pushing ahead steadily step by step but without any dramatic rout of the eastern forces. But best indications may not be very good in this civil war that is rending Africa's most populous country. The federal government refuses to allow any foreign correspondent anywhere near the battle lines or even the command headquarters. Diplomats say they have received only the sketchiest and vaguest of reports. And there is some hint of less than brisk, communication even between the federal government and its own troops on the remote bushland of the northern border of Biafra - the name that the Eastern Region has taken since its secession. So outsiders can only sift through the rare war communiques of the federal government, the claims made by Biafra Radio and the whispered gossip around town...

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