DATE=11/23/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-256474
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian forces are pounding a strategic town
south of the Chechen capital, Grozny, in a drive to
cut off the capital's largest remaining rebel supply
and escape route. Federal troops say they have Grozny
80-percent surrounded, and are inching forward. But as
V-O-A's Peter Heinlein reports from Moscow, there are
signs the rebels will soon begin counter attacks.
TEXT: Urus-Martan, 20-kilometers southwest of Grozny,
is under siege. Russian troops rained bombs and
artillery shells on the town. They are relentlessly
pursuing their goal of cutting access to the capital,
where they believe as many as six-thousand rebels are
digging in, preparing for battle.
Urus-Martan lies near a main road going south through
the mountains to Georgia. Federal troops believe the
highway is a major rebel supply route.
/// OPT /// Russian forces control the eastern,
western and northern approaches to Grozny. Only the
southern sector, around Urus-Martan, remains in rebel
hands.
The nearly two-month Russian ground offensive has been
marked by systematic bombing and artillery attacks on
towns and villages. Residents are then issued an
ultimatum: either the rebels leave and Russian troops
take the town quietly, or civilians are ordered out
and the town is reduced to ruins. /// END OPT ///
Russia's Defense Minister, Igor Sergeyev, noted that
Chechnya's second city, Gudermes, and the western town
of Achkoi-Martan had recently fallen to federal troops
without a shot. He said other population centers are
also deciding that cooperation is better than
destruction.
/// SERGEYEV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE
TO... ///
He says -- the question of liberating localities will
be decided the same way as in Gudermes and Achkoi-
Martan. He added -- the elders (i.e. town elders) and
the local population have shown their determination to
free the areas of bandits jointly with federal troops.
/// OPT /// Marshal Sergeyev said there is no plan
for a frontal assault on Grozny. Army Chief, General
Anatoly Kvashnin said a day earlier the strategy is to
completely encircle the capital by mid-December,
trapping rebels inside.
Meanwhile, there is talk in Moscow of forming a new
Chechen government by next February. The former mayor
of Grozny, Bislan Gantamirov, has recently been
released from prison and named head of the parallel
administration.
Mr. Gantamirov, who had been serving a six-year term
for embezzlement, is said to be returning to Russian-
controlled Chechen territory. News agencies say he is
calling for Moscow to step up its crackdown on rebels.
/// END OPT ///
Chechen military sources are quoted as saying that
with Russian troops holding more than 50-percent of
the breakaway region, rebel fighters are preparing to
begin counter attacks. Until now, the campaign has
been marked by heavy Russian air and artillery
strikes, with the Chechen fighters offering little
resistance.
Russia's Interfax news agency Tuesday quoted Yusup
Soslambekov, the leader of a group that says it
represents all ethnic groups in the Northern Caucasus,
as saying the main hostilities in Chechnya are ahead.
Mr. Soslambekov said -- it should be understood that
the war has not begun for the Chechen armed forces --
it has only begun for the civilian population.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/LTD/RAE
23-Nov-1999 11:26 AM EDT (23-Nov-1999 1626 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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