DATE=11/2/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA - U-S (L)
NUMBER=2-255727
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: U.S. officials say President Clinton plans to
make a personal appeal to Russia's prime minister
during talks in Oslo to try to minimize civilian
casualties in Russia's military campaign in Chechnya.
V-O-A Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports Russian
jets and artillery continue to bomb two of Chechnya's
largest cities and thousands of refugees remain
trapped inside the breakaway republic.
TEXT: Aides to President Clinton say he will press
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to halt what
they describe as the "indiscriminate use of force
against innocent civilians" in Chechnya.
Other U-S officials have appealed to Mr. Putin to stop
the violence. But he has vowed to move ahead with the
military campaign despite international calls for a
peaceful end to the conflict.
Earlier Tuesday, the prime minister told reporters
that what he called Chechen "criminals," not Russian
officials, are to blame for the human suffering in
Chechnya. He pledged to continue what he called
"Russia's task of freeing the Chechen people" from
terrorists.
Prime Minister Putin says Islamic militants in
Chechnya are armed and trained by international
terrorist groups and must be destroyed.
Russian warplanes and artillery continue to bomb
targets in Chechnya's capital, Grozny, as well as the
republic's second largest city, Gudermes. Russian
forces are also shelling the town of Bamut, close to
Chechnya's border with the neighboring republic of
Ingushetia.
Thousands of refugees remain trapped near the Chechen-
Ingush border, which Russian troops are tightly
controlling. An estimated 190-thousand refugees have
already fled the bombing raids. (Signed)
NEB/EC/JWH/PLM
02-Nov-1999 06:23 AM EDT (02-Nov-1999 1123 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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