DATE=2/29/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L) NUMBER=2-259661 BYLINE=EVE CONANT DATELINE=MOSCOW CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Russia's military says its troops have taken full control of the last mountain rebel stronghold, Shatoi, 60 kilometers south of the Chechen capital, Grozny. Moscow correspondent Eve Conant reports military officials say the capture signals the effective victory of Russian troops in Chechnya. TEXT: Russian forces say they have taken full control of Shatoi, the highly fortified rebel stronghold in the Argun Gorge. The village was considered the last rebel stronghold in Chechnya after thousands of fighters retreated to the mountains following the fall of the Chechen capital, Grozny. Russia's military is hailing the capture of the strategic village as a breakthrough. The deputy commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, General Gennady Troshev, says the fall of Shatoi signals the end of full-scale federal operations in Chechnya. /// ACT TROSHEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE UNDER /// "The fact that we raised the Russian flag in Shatoi means the rebels have been defeated in their last region," he says. "We can say the full-scale phase of our military operation is over." General Troshev says Shatoi and nine other villages in the Argun Gorge were seized from the rebels. /// SECOND ACT TROSHEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE UNDER /// "Our forces have completely liberated the Argun Gorge from the rebels," he says. "Of course, there are still small rebel gangs operating there, but we will catch and exterminate them." General Troshev says there will be a gradual withdrawal of troops, saying, in his words "the number of soldiers we have now is no longer necessary." He said special Interior Ministry and militia troops would continue to search for and destroy small groups of rebels remaining in the mountains. /// OPT /// The Interfax news agency quotes military sources as saying Moscow would leave a permanent force of 25-thousand troops in Chechnya but would start pulling out the majority of federal forces. /// END OPT /// The rebels Internet website, "Kavkaz.org" says rebels in the Shatoi region are still battling Russian forces and are inflicting heavy casualties on Russian troops. The website also lists graphic cases of alleged torture by Russian forces against Chechens held in the Chernokozovo detention camp. Russia denies the camp is used for torture. (Signed) NEB/EC/GE/KL 29-Feb-2000 09:41 AM EDT (29-Feb-2000 1441 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
