DATE=8/21/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-O)
NUMBER=2-252982
BYLINE=GUY CHAZAN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Fighting continues in southern Russia,
where government troops are battling Muslim
insurgents holding a cluster of mountain villages
in Dagestan. The Russian military command claims
its forces have killed up to 100 rebels in just
one day of fighting. Guy Chazan reports from
Moscow:
TEXT: Russian Defense Ministry bulletins continue
to claim headway is being made against the
rebels. But, so far, there is little evidence of
that on the ground. The insurgents -- adherents
of the radical Wahhabi Islamic sect -- continue
to hold six villages, close to the border with
Chechnya.
Despite a relentless bombardment by Russian
aircraft and heavy artillery, the rebels have
yielded little ground. Moscow says 100 militants
were killed in a single day of fighting, but
there has been no independent verification.
Most military analysts in Moscow think reports of
rebel losses are greatly exaggerated. The defense
ministry says its forces have destroyed rebel
ammunition dumps and knocked out a number of
vehicles bringing reinforcements and supplies.
However, it is clear the tide in the fighting
will only turn once government troops capture the
strategic heights around the small mountain-top
village, Tondo. Tondo controls a crucial
mountain pass through which the rebels are
bringing in men and material from Chechnya. So
far, all attempts to take the village have
failed. A ground assault, earlier this week, left
Russia with heavy casualties.
Russia has tremendous superiority in firepower
and has thousands of troops and plenty of heavy
weaponry in Dagestan.
But the rebels -- many of them veterans of the
Chechen War -- are determined and well-trained
fighters who are experts at digging in and
holding their positions. (signed)
NEB/gc/dw / wd
21-Aug-1999 07:25 AM LOC (21-Aug-1999 1125 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
