DATE=12/21/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-257360
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russian troops are battling Chechen fighters
along the foothills of the republic's southern
mountains and on the edges of the capital, Grozny.
Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports Chechen
commanders say they have surrounded a Russian unit in
a Grozny suburb.
TEXT: Heavy fighting is reported between Russian
forces and an estimated 500 Chechen rebels near the
village of Serzhen-Yurt, on the edge of Chechnya's
mountainous south. Chechen fighters have set up
military bases in the mountains and Russian forces say
the village, 30-kilometers southeast of Grozny, lies
along a strategic rebel transit route.
Russian warplanes also hit targets across southern
Chechnya, including the towns of Shatoi and Vedeno.
Clashes are reported on the outskirts of Grozny as
troops move forward toward the city center. But
Russia's Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev is dismissing
reports that federal troops are planning to storm
Grozny within days.
/// SERGEYEV ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
He calls the reports a provocation. He says there are
no dates set to undertake what he calls -- special
operations.
Chechen television broadcasts from the capital
reported a Russian army unit was cornered in the
Grozny suburb of Chernorechiye. There was no
independent confirmation.
A Chechen commander interviewed for the report said
heavy fighting left casualties on both sides and
Russian troops were retreating from the southern
district. (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/JWH/RAE
21-Dec-1999 09:24 AM EDT (21-Dec-1999 1424 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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