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DATE=1/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-258037
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Russian forces are blocking the passage of all 
Chechen civilian males more than 10-years old and 
under age-60 from entering or leaving the breakaway 
republic.  Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports 
regional and international leaders say the new 
measures violate human rights as refugees try to flee 
the renewed fighting in Chechnya.
TEXT:  Military officials say federal troops are 
combing Russian occupied towns in Chechnya for 
possible rebels after a series of counterattacks 
killed dozens of Russian soldiers.
One of the new measures adopted by the military to 
fend off further attacks is to detain and thoroughly 
check all Chechen males they consider to be of 
fighting age.  Border guards and refugees at the 
Chechen-Ingush border say Chechen men between the ages 
of 10 and 60 are not allowed to flee the fighting or 
to return to their homes. 
Russian television showed pictures of a border guard 
shouting at civilians that electricity problems meant 
no one could cross for some period.
  /// ACT BORDER GUARD IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE ///
He shouts to the refugees - here is one more 
disappointment for you. The electricity has been cut 
off and even those of you over 60-years of age will 
have to wait.
U-S officials, human rights groups, and regional 
leaders have all blasted the new measures as a 
violation of human rights.
Ingushetia's president says intensified fighting had 
prompted a new wave of refugees.  The New York-based 
Human Rights Watch calls it unacceptable to deny 
civilian males the right to flee a war.
Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo, on a 
visit to the region, said Russian media reports that 
the offensive was starting to fail are a gross 
exaggeration.  He tried to assure reporters that 
federal forces were in control, but would not give 
details of new security measures.
  /// ACT RUSHAILO IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE ///
He says - we will not reveal our tactics or methods, 
but we are going to strengthen checks in populated 
regions.  He says - the rebels have not disappeared, 
they are here among us.
Heavy fighting continued in the capital, Grozny, with 
helicopter gunships and warplanes hitting targets in 
the city center.  Russian news agencies quote a 
representative of the Russian government in Chechnya 
as saying Grozny would soon be under federal control, 
but news reports from the region say the city center 
is still held by rebels.  
Federal artillery also pounded targets in towns 
reportedly under Russian control, as well as the 
mountain rebel stronghold of Vedeno.   (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/GE/RAE 
13-Jan-2000 09:27 AM EDT (13-Jan-2000 1427 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.