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DATE=9/18/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CAUCASUS (S-L)
NUMBER=2-254050
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  The Russian Air Force continues its 
campaign to strike at what it describes as 
rebel bases inside Chechnya.  Meanwhile, 
Chechen officials say Russian troops have 
crossed into Chechen territory.  V-O-A Moscow 
correspondent Eve Conant has details. 
TEXT:  Russian military officials say federal 
air strikes against guerrilla strongholds in 
Chechnya have intensified.  They say more than 
one thousand gunmen have massed near the 
Chechen-Dagestani border in Russia's Caucasus 
region, and that the strikes are meant to 
prevent a possible incursion into Dagestan.
The Interfax news agency quotes Chechen 
officials as saying federal motorized units had 
crossed into Chechen territory on Saturday. 
A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman denied 
that report.
Chechnya, which claims independence from 
Russia, has complained that federal troops are 
bombing civilian villages.  Russian military 
officials say they are attacking only what they 
call "rebel bases" in the breakaway republic.
///REST OPT FOR LONG///
Russian leaders blame a recent series of fatal 
apartment bombings in Moscow and southern 
Russia on Islamic militants from Chechnya but 
have produced little evidence to support that 
claim.
The explosions have killed more than 300 people 
in the past three weeks.  No one has claimed 
responsibility for the blasts, and Chechen 
militant leaders have denied any involvement. 
But Russia's leadership has imposed a strict 
security regime following the blasts and 
efforts to rout Islamic insurgents in southern 
Russia have gained new momentum.  Russian Prime 
Minister Vladimir Putin has vowed to, in his 
words, "destroy the bandits." 
Chechen-led Islamic insurgents in Dagestan have 
been fighting with federal troops since early 
August.  The militants want to create an 
independent Islamic state in Dagestan, but have 
been routed from several villages they had 
seized. 
The fighting is the worst in the region since 
Russia's 1994-1996 civil war with Chechnya. 
(Signed)
NEB/EC/ALW/KL
18-Sep-1999 11:19 AM EDT (18-Sep-1999 1519 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.