DATE=10/31/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA - CHECHNYA (L-UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-255674
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
INTRO: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has
denied that Russian troops are targeting civilians in
Chechnya. He describes reports of civilian casualties
as terrorist propaganda. As we hear from
correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow, Mr. Putin's
comments came after the International Red Cross
accused Russian warplanes of attacking a Chechen
refugee convoy.
TEXT: In an interview with a group of Russian
reporters, Prime Minster Putin said there is no truth
to stories that Russian jets are indiscriminately
bombing civilian targets in Chechnya.
/// FIRST PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN FADES
UNDER ///
He says, everything concerning the bombing of
civilians is the ill-intended propaganda of
terrorists. Mr. Putin called such reports part of a
new information front in the conflict. He added, in
reality nothing like that is happening.
The Prime Minister accused rebel fighters of killing
Chechens who refused to support them.
/// SECOND PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN FADES
UNDER ///
He says, we have evidence that the gunmen themselves
execute civilians who want to cooperate with federal
authorities. He told reporters there have been no
actions to hurt civilians and there will not be any.
Mr. Putin's comments came a day after the
International Red Cross condemned an air strike on one
of its refugee convoys in Chechnya. Two local Red
Cross workers were among at least 25 people killed in
the rocket attack.
A statement issued by I-C-R-C in Geneva said several
vehicles in the convoy were clearly marked, including
one that had a large Red Cross emblem on its roof.
The convoy was on its way back to the Chechen capital,
Grozny, after Russian troops refused it permission to
cross into neighboring Ingushetia.
As intensive bombings continue on towns and villages
across Chechnya, Ingushetia has become temporary home
to more than 180-thousand refugees, pushing the tiny
republic to what its president calls the "brink of a
humanitarian disaster." But the flow of refugees has
come to a virtual standstill since Russian troops
effectively sealed the border last week.
/// OPT ///A European Union delegation headed by
Finnish Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen visited
Ingushetia Saturday. Ms. Halonen later urged Russia to
reopen the border, and to remove obstacles preventing
the delivery of Western humanitarian aid. /// END OPT
///
Chechen leaders estimate that 36-hundred people, most
of them civilians, have been killed since Russian
troops began air strikes over Chechnya nearly two
months ago. No independent confirmation of the total
is available, but Western journalists and other
reliable sources have verfied specific air and
artillery attacks in which large numbers of civilians
have died.
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov on Sunday accused
Russian forces of genocide, and threatened reprisals
against federal troops in the breakaway region.
The United States, as well as numerous other Western
and Islamic countries, have repeatedly urged Moscow to
stop using excessive force and to avoid hitting
civilians. But Russian leaders have shrugged off the
advice, saying they are punishing terrorists. (Signed)
Neb/pfh/GM-T/gm
31-Oct-1999 19:08 PM EDT (01-Nov-1999 0008 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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