DATE=11/26/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA, UPDATE (L)
NUMBER=2-256560
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A fresh wave of refugees is flooding the roads
out of Chechnya as Russia unleashes a withering
offensive aimed at two large population centers. V-O-A
Moscow correspondent Peter Heinlein reports Russian
generals are launching what they call a third and
final phase in their current campaign.
TEXT: Deputy Army Chief of Staff Valery Manilov says
phase two of the Chechnya campaign is just about
complete, and phase three is about to begin.
/// MANILOV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///
He says, "The aim of the third phase is to destroy
bandit groups in the mountains, while at the same time
restoring order and establishing conditions for the
return of refugees to their homes."
General Manilov, who has lately become the army's main
spokesman, says the entire operation should be more or
less complete by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, phase two -- surrounding the capital,
Grozny -- appears to be gaining momentum. News
agencies say frightened residents are streaming out of
the city, waving white flags, after Russian forces
unleashed the heaviest barrage of rocket and artillery
fire since the offensive began three months ago.
Urus-Martan, a strategic town 20 kilometers southwest
of the capital, was also hit hard. Witnesses reported
an orange haze hanging over the region as a result of
the massive bombardment.
General Manilov told a news conference Friday that
Russian forces have killed more than four-thousand
rebels, while losing 187 soldiers since the offensive
began. Chechen officials dispute those figures, saying
rebel fighters have suffered minimal losses while
killing thousands of Russian troops.
They say the heaviest casualties have been among
civilians, with nearly five thousand killed.
None of the figures could be independently confirmed,
but in the past both sides have tended to exaggerate
enemy casualties while minimizing their own.
/// REST OPT ///
But Russian military officials Friday did confirm an
incident in which several soldiers drove their tank to
a Chechen refugee camp in Ingushetia and opened fire,
killing at least one woman. The region's prosecutor,
Gelani Merjhuyev, says the soldiers were apparently
angry at not being able to buy vodka.
/// MERJHUYEV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///
He says, "There were many witnesses. The armored car
drove in. Soldiers were sitting on it. They were all
drunk and shooting chaotically with machine guns."
A military source says four soldiers were arrested in
connection with the incident, and will face murder
charges. (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/ENE/JO
26-Nov-1999 12:51 PM EDT (26-Nov-1999 1751 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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