DATE=2/16/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-H-C-R / CHECHNYA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259212
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations says hundreds of refugees
have fled fighting in southern Chechnya for the
neighboring republic of Ingushetia in the past few
days. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.
TEXT: The U-N refugee agency estimates about 600-
people have fled rebel-controlled mountainous areas
south of the Chechen capital, Grozny, in the past few
days.
U-N-H-C-R spokesman Kris Janowski says the Russian
military push has shifted from Grozny to Shatoi in the
south. He says the new refugees are coming from
there. He says no civilians are leaving or returning
to Grozny which is essentially off limits -- tightly
controlled by Russian troops.
/// JANOWSKI ACT ONE ///
What the Russians have said officially is that
they have closed off Grozny completely for the
next couple of weeks or so, basically to clean
up, to get rid of unexploded ordnances, and so
on and so forth. There could be some civilians
remaining in Grozny according to very scant
information that you get mostly from the media.
But, from most accounts, Grozny is basically a
moon landscape. It has been completely
devastated. So, it is not a place where you
could live anyway.
/// END ACT ///
Despite that, Mr. Janowski says he believes most of
the people who suffered throughout Russia's military
bombardment of Grozny are probably still there. The
number of civilians remaining in the city is estimated
between 13-thousand and 40-thousand. Mr. Janowski
says they probably are still hiding in cellars since
the Russians took the city.
He also says an estimated 25-hundred people have
returned to Ingushetia in recent days after brief
trips to Chechnya. He says most of these people have
decided to remain in Ingushetia after seeing what
conditions were like in Chechnya.
/// JANOWSKI ACT TWO ///
There are all kinds of stories about things
happening in Chechnya, especially to draft-age
men. There are stories about people being
picked up for questioning and so on and so
forth. There is also widespread destruction.
So, at the moment, the atmosphere in Ingushetia
is essentially one that people should perhaps go
and see. But, there is certainly not a major
movement back toward Chechnya since the Russians
established themselves in Grozny.
/// END ACT ///
There are about 180-thousand Chechen refugees in
Ingushetia. Mr. Janowski calls the situation
difficult, but under control. He says there are many
more private and U-N agencies in the region than
earlier and their presence is making life easier for
the refugees. (SIGNED)
NEB/LS/JWH/RAE
16-Feb-2000 09:06 AM EDT (16-Feb-2000 1406 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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