DATE=9/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CAUCASUS (LONG)
NUMBER=2-253915
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian security authorities have launched a
massive manhunt for the people responsible for
bombings at two Moscow apartment buildings that killed
more than 200 people. V-O-A Moscow Correspondent Eve
Conant reports a tough new anti-terrorist campaign
will be extended into Russia's troubled Caucasus
region.
TEXT: Police officials say Moscow's anti-terrorist
campaign, dubbed "Operation Whirlwind," will cover the
entire country. Officers have been searching the
capital for suspects in the blasts, focusing on dark-
skinned men who could be from the Caucasus region of
southern Russia.
Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo and Armed
Forces Chief of Staff Anatoly Kvashnin flew to the
Caucasus (Wednesday) to launch "Operation Whirlwind"
there. Interior Minister Rushailo says their task
will not be easy.
/// RUSHAILO ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
He says, "The situation is difficult because of
criminal gangs. Our aim is to organize measures to
prevent gangs from penetrating into other regions of
the Caucasus."
The situation remains tense in the Caucasus region of
Dagestan, where federal forces have been fighting
Islamic militants since early August. Russian news
agencies quote Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev as
saying (Wednesday) that thousands more militants have
concentrated near the border between Chechnya and
Dagestan.
Russian officials have blamed the apartment blasts on
terrorists linked to Islamic insurgents in Dagestan
and Chechnya but have produced little hard evidence to
support their assertions. Chechen militants have
denied any involvement in the attacks.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said
(Wednesday) that officials are certain the
perpetrators were using the breakaway region of
Chechnya as a base of operations.
/// PUTIN ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
He says, "The terrorists are hiding in Chechnya and
are supported by Chechen extremists. We have detained
some people they may have used to commit these acts,
and are searching for those who ordered them."
An Interior Ministry official said (Wednesday) that
Russian aircraft carried out attacks against militant
bases inside Chechen territory, but denied that forces
were bombing civilian targets. A statement by the
Chechen president's press office says the breakaway
region will declare three days of mourning for victims
of what it describes as Russian bombing raids against
civilian villages. (Signed)
NEB/EC/JWH/JO
15-Sep-1999 11:13 AM EDT (15-Sep-1999 1513 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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