DATE=9/23/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-254249
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian forces have bombed the airport at
Chechnya's capital, Grozny, killing at least one
person. V-O-A Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports
this is the first Russian attack on the Chechen
capital since the region's civil war ended in 1996.
TEXT: News agencies report that Russian bombers
attacked an arms depot and radar equipment at the
Grozny airport. The reports say Russian intelligence
had determined Islamic militants were using the
equipment.
Officials in Moscow confirmed the attack. An air
force press spokesman said a plane on the airstrip was
also destroyed. The Interfax news agency reports
Russian jets also targeted an oil refinery, a fuel
storage site, and power installations outside Grozny.
Russian forces have been bombing what they describe as
rebel bases inside Chechen territory. They
consistently deny Chechen reports that federal air
strikes have damaged villages and killed hundreds of
civilians.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says air strikes
will continue against the rebels, wherever they might
be located.
/// PUTIN ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
He says, "The bandits will be pursued wherever they
are. If they are found at the airport, they will be
pursued at the airport."
Russian authorities accuse Chechnya of sheltering
Islamic militants who have been staging attacks
against villages in neighboring Dagestan in an attempt
to establish an independent Islamic state. Officials
also blame the militants for a series of deadly
apartment explosions in Russia that killed nearly 300
people.
The recent fighting in Dagestan and the latest air
strikes are the heaviest military activity in the
region since Russia's civil war with Chechnya ended in
1996. (Signed)
NEB/EC/JWH/KL
23-Sep-1999 09:52 AM EDT (23-Sep-1999 1352 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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