DATE=1/5/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHECHNYA / RUSSIAN RETREAT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257816
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=ON THE CHECHEN BORDER
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: As the conflict in Chechnya intensifies,
Russian troops have been forced to retreat from
several villages they captured last month on the
outskirts of the capital, Grozny. From the Chechen
border, V-O-A correspondent Peter Heinlein reports
that as additional Russian ground troops move in, the
rebels are increasingly using the guerrilla tactics
that eventually wore down federal forces during the
last war.
TEXT: Residents of Alkhan-Yurt and Alkhan-Kala, two
strategic villages just southwest of Grozny, say a
convoy of vehicles carrying 300 heavily-armed Chechen
fighters swept through this week, re-establishing
rebel control.
The area around Alkhan-Yurt and Alkhan-Kala fell to
Russian troops more than a month ago, after heavy
fighting. According to evidence gathered by
international human rights groups, soldiers rampaged
through the streets of Alkhan-Yurt, looting homes and
killing villagers who tried to stop them.
But one refugee from Alkhan-Kala, arriving at the
Chechen border Wednesday, says Russian forces seemed
to melt away when the rebels returned.
/// REFUGEE ACT IN RUSSIAN-ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER ///
"I don't understand how the rebels came back." This
man, who asks not to be identified, says, "They came
in jeeps - a whole column - and the Russians just let
them back without a fight."
A senior official of a Russian-backed Chechen militia
admitted the towns were back in rebel control, but
said, "We have them surrounded."
Another Chechen actively supporting the Russian
military offensive, Arsan Nukayev, says he visited
Alkhan-Yurt Tuesday and found neither rebels nor
federal troops there. But he said the village was
being heavily shelled by Russian artillery in the
nearby hills.
/// 1ST NUKAYEV RUSSIAN ACT-ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER ///
He says, "Yesterday, when I was there, the Russians
were firing their heavy weapons, and five bombs fell
on Alkhan-Yurt."
Mr. Nukayev, a Grozny native who served as environment
minister in previous, pro-Moscow Chechen governments,
ridiculed Russian claims that much of the breakaway
region is under federal control. He says Russian
commanders use the term "under control" to mean
anything they can hit with their long-range artillery.
He says the rebels, using classic guerrilla tactics,
operate freely in so-called "Russian-controlled
territory."
/// 2nd NUKAYEV RUSSIAN ACT-ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER ///
He says, "This notion of being `under control' cannot
be used in a guerrilla war.
The constantly-changing situation around the villages
is creating havoc for residents. Many fled when
fighting first broke out, then returned when Russians
declared the area safe - only to flee again when the
latest bombs began falling.
Forty-year-old Yakhit Yavliyeva brought her 80-year-
old father out of Alkhan-Yurt for the second time in
two months Tuesday, when bombs started crashing around
their home. She says, after so many years of war, it
no longer matters which side wins.
/// YAVLIYEVA RUSSIAN ACT-ESTABLISH, FADE UNDER ///
She says, "We wish this war would just stop. We'll be
satisfied with any kind of power [government]. We're
tired of war."
Ms. Yavliyeva says there has been no peace in Chechnya
for nearly 10 years - meaning people have no schools,
no work, no salaries and no pensions. But war they
have.
Unlike the last war, however, this conflict is being
waged mostly out of sight of reporters and television
cameras. Except for a few intrepid journalists who
manage to elude Russian guards, most non-official news
from the war zone comes from newly-arrived refugees.
Their information suggests that, after an initial
period of passive resistance, the rebels are waging an
increasingly aggressive guerrilla war, using pin-point
strikes and quickly withdrawing.
Federal forces are finding the going increasingly
rough on the ground, and are relying on long-range
artillery in a relentless assault on the unseen enemy.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/WTW
05-Jan-2000 15:44 PM EDT (05-Jan-2000 2044 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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