DATE=10/5/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-254660
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian ground forces have seized the northern
one-third of Chechnya, and are meeting only scattered
resistance as they push deeper into the breakaway
region. Moscow Correspondent Peter Heinlein also
reports two Russian jets have been lost on missions
over Chechnya.
TEXT: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Russian
infantry and tank units have advanced to the Terek
River that cuts across northern Chechnya and have
taken control of 30-towns and villages.
/// PUTIN ACT ONE - IN RUSSIAN - FADE
UNDER ///
He says about one-third of the Chechen republic is
under federal control. But he added that the
operation is far from over.
/// PUTIN ACT TWO - IN RUSSIAN - FADE
UNDER ///
The Russian Prime Minister says this is only the first
stage. He says the final aim is the complete
extermination of terrorists and their bases on the
whole territory of Chechnya.
/// OPT /// Military analysts say the plan is to
divide the republic and establish a pro-Moscow
administration on the Russian held-portion while
tightening the economic and military squeeze on the
other side. Chechnya has been effectively independent
since Russia withdrew its troops three-years ago after
suffering a humiliating defeat in a 21-month war.
/// END OPT ///
Also Tuesday, Russian military officials admitted they
had lost two warplanes over Chechnya. A Sukhoi-24
ground attack jet was shot down Monday by a shoulder-
fired surface to air missile near Urus-Martan, about
25-kilometers southwest of the regional capital,
Grozny.
/// OPT /// Chechen television showed pictures of
the wreckage and the body of the pilot. /// END OPT
///
A Sukhoi-25 bomber went down in northern Chechnya, but
Russian officials say the pilot was rescued.
/// OPT /// The loss of the two planes is bound to be
a blow to Russia, which controlled the skies almost
unchallenged in the last Chechen campaign in the mid-
1990's.
Another worrisome note for Russia is the reported loss
of several ground troops in the current offensive.
The death of thousand of conscripts in the previous
conflict was largely responsible for turning Russian
public against the war. /// END OPT ///
Clashes were reported in a region 30-kilometers north
of Grozny, and Chechen military officials were quoted
as saying rebel fighters were retreating in the face
of the Russian offensive. Residents of the capital
contacted by telephone said they could hear heavy
artillery fire in the distance.
/// REST OPT ///
Conditions in Grozny are said to be deteriorating,
with water and gas supplies cut off and electricity
available only a few hours a day.
More than 100-thousand Chechens -- more than 10-
percent of the republic's population -- have already
fled to relative safety in neighboring Ingushetia.
Officials there are warning that if the fighting in
Chechnya continues, the refugee population could
quickly swell to 200-thousand, creating the potential
for a humanitarian crisis in a region where the total
population is normally only about 300-thousand.
(SIGNED)
NEB/PFH/JWH/RAE
05-Oct-1999 09:40 AM LOC (05-Oct-1999 1340 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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