DATE=9/22/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA - DAGESTAN (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254199
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A senior Russian security official says
troops have sealed off the breakaway Chechnya
region, but have no plans for a ground invasion.
Instead, as V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter
Heinlein reports, the Russian strategy is based
mostly on NATO-style air strikes against
suspected rebel positions.
TEXT: Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov says
Russian troops have surrounded Chechnya and are
prepared to retake the region that, in effect,
broke away from Moscow's rule three years ago.
Media reports say anywhere from 20-thousand to
50-thousand soldiers are massed along the Chechen
border, most of them in neighboring Dagestan.
But General Zubov told reporters Wednesday
military planners are advising against a ground
invasion because of the likelihood of heavy
Russian casualties.
///Zubov act in Russian, then fade under///
He says, "Such an operation will cause huge
losses. We have learned that from recent events
in Dagestan, and before that in the last Chechen
war."
The previous conflict in Chechnya, from 1994 to
1996, left an estimated 80-thousand people dead,
most of them civilians. But the casualties also
included tens of thousands of Russian soldiers,
most of them raw recruits thrown into battle
against well-armed and well-trained Chechen
rebels.
The result was a humiliating defeat for Russia, a
withdrawal of federal forces, and virtual
independence for Chechnya.
So this time, General Zubov says the strategy
will be different. This time the attack is being
patterned after the recent NATO air campaign
against Serb forces in Kosovo.
/// 2nd Zubov act in Russian, then fade under ///
He says, "So I believe these tactics are
justified, sealing the border and air strikes on
rebel territory." The general says the attacks
will include what he calls "retribution strikes,"
which he describes as destroying the rebels and
their bases without any contact.
/// REST OPT ///
Military analysts say the so-called "cordon and
bomb" strategy was agreed on after four apartment
buildings were bombed this month, killing nearly
300 people. The attacks were blamed on Chechen
terrorists, although no evidence has been
produced and rebel leaders staunchly deny
responsibility.
The bombings also provoked public outrage, and
demands for the expulsion of unregistered
residents from Moscow. Mayor Yuri Luzhkov last
week ordered all non-Muscovites living in the
city to re-register within a week or face
deportation.
Newspaper reports say thousands of those who went
to re-register have had their applications
rejected. Many are migrants from Chechnya and
other parts of the Caucasus region. Published
reports indicate as many as 40-thousand people
may be deported from the capital.
The Kommersant Daily newspaper (Wednesday) quoted
a constitutional court judge as saying such
expulsions violate Russia's constitution. But a
senior police official rejected accusations they
are acting illegally, and said authorities are
going ahead with the deportation campaign.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/gm
22-Sep-1999 12:54 PM EDT (22-Sep-1999 1654 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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