DATE=10/1/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA/CHECHNYA (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-254574
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: UPDATES CR 23-254558; NEW THROUGHOUT ///
INTRO: As Russian troops tighten a security cordon
around Chechnya, authorities in Moscow are saying they
no longer recognize the authority of Chechen
President Aslan Maskhadov. V-O-A's Peter Heinlein
reports the stepped-up military activity is triggering
a further exodus of Chechen refugees.
TEXT: Russian forces are reported advancing as much
as 15 kilometers inside Chechnya and capturing
strategic positions to establish a security zone. It
is believed to be the first time Moscow has sent
ground troops into the breakaway region since
suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Chechen
rebels three years ago.
But Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev cautioned Friday
that the move is not an invasion. He told reporters
the plan is to capture territory bit-by-bit, by
expanding a so-called "sanitary cordon."
Russian military planners are hoping the go-slow
strategy will avoid the heavy casualties that
undermined public support for the previous Chechen
campaign in the mid-1990s. That war left 80-thousand
people dead, including tens of thousands of Russian
soldiers.
On another front Friday, Russian jets carried out a
record number of air strikes over Chechnya, destroying
a bridge and other strategic targets. The Interfax
news agency quoted Chechen officials as saying
virtually the whole republic was being subjected to
simultaneous bombardment.
The heightened military activity was accompanied by
moves to re-establish Moscow's political authority in
the breakaway region.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared the authority
of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and his
parliament illegitimate. The tough-talking prime
minister said Russia only recognizes a group of pro-
Moscow lawmakers who fled Chechnya when Russia pulled
out of the region in 1996.
President Maskhadov, who led Chechnya's rebellion
against Moscow's rule, called Prime Minister Putin's
remarks "politically short-sighted." President Ruslan
Aushev of the neighboring Ingushetia region called Mr.
Putin's comments "absolutely thoughtless," and said
they would only make the situation worse.
As hostilities escalated, so did an exodus of refugees
to neighboring Ingushetia, where close to 100-thousand
Chechens are said to be sheltering. A convoy of
trucks from the United Nations refugee agency arrived
in Ingushetia Friday, carrying 80 tons of relief
supplies. Another convoy from Moscow is expected
shortly.
But officials say a ground invasion of Chechnya could
send the number of refugees soaring to 200-thousand,
further straining the resources in Ingushetia, already
one of Russia's most economically-depressed regions.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/WTW
01-Oct-1999 18:31 PM EDT (01-Oct-1999 2231 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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