DATE=8/8/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA /CAUCASUS (L)
NUMBER=2-252578
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin is
flying to the northern Caucasus region, where security
forces are said to be battling suspected Muslim
insurgents near the border with breakaway Chechnya.
V-O-A's Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports preparations
are underway for a major military operation against
the rebels.
TEXT: Russian news agencies say Prime Minister
Stepashin decided to go to the Caucasus Republic of
Dagestan Sunday, after a phone conversation with
President Boris Yeltsin. Army Chief of Staff General
Anatoly Kvashnin and the commander of interior
ministry troops also flew in to direct what is being
described as a "large-scale operation" against Islamic
militants surrounding several villages along the
border with Chechnya.
The Interfax news agency quotes Mr. Stepashin as
saying the situation has worsened in the region and
that three or four mountain villages are under control
of what he calls "criminals". The prime minister said
Russia's disastrous war in Chechnya in the mid-90's
had scared many people. Still, he says he is not
scared.
Mr. Stepashin played a key role in the Chechen War,
serving at times as chief of domestic intelligence,
interior minister and justice minister. Tens of
thousands of people died in the fighting, most of them
Chechen civilians. The war ended with the withdrawal
of Russian troops and de facto independence for the
region.
News reports Saturday said Russian troops, backed by
helicopter gun ships, had attacked militant formations
around Botlikh -- a tiny village in the remote
mountainous region near the Chechen border. Villagers
were reported fleeing Sunday, but the militants were
said to be digging in, armed with anti-tank and anti-
aircraft weapons.
Exactly who the militants are remains unclear. Russian
sources say the gunmen crossed into Dagestan from
Chechnya and include groups of Arab speakers and
fighters from Central Asia. Chechen officials have
denied there was any such border crossing, saying that
such a movement would be suicidal because of the heavy
buildup of Russian troops in the area.
Prime Minister Stepashin Saturday ordered an
additional one thousand police officers to Dagestan,
along with a battalion of interior ministry troops and
a motorized infantry brigade. These are in addition
to several thousand soldiers and paramilitary forces
already in the region.
Estimates of the number of Islamic militants around
the villages ranges from about 200 to as many as two
thousand. These estimates cannot be independently
confirmed.
Few western journalists dare to venture to the
northern Caucasus region, where kidnappings for ransom
have become commonplace. Russia's interior ministry
says more than a thousand kidnappings have taken place
in and around Chechnya in the past two and a half
years. (signed)
Neb / pfh / dw / wd
08-Aug-1999 06:55 AM LOC (08-Aug-1999 1055 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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