DATE=2/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-259661
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's military says its troops have
taken full control of the last mountain rebel
stronghold, Shatoi, 60 kilometers south of the
Chechen capital, Grozny. Moscow correspondent
Eve Conant reports military officials say the
capture signals the effective victory of Russian
troops in Chechnya.
TEXT: Russian forces say they have taken full
control of Shatoi, the highly fortified rebel
stronghold in the Argun Gorge. The village was
considered the last rebel stronghold in Chechnya
after thousands of fighters retreated to the
mountains following the fall of the Chechen
capital, Grozny.
Russia's military is hailing the capture of the
strategic village as a breakthrough. The deputy
commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, General
Gennady Troshev, says the fall of Shatoi signals
the end of full-scale federal operations in
Chechnya.
/// ACT TROSHEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE UNDER
///
"The fact that we raised the Russian flag in
Shatoi means the rebels have been defeated in
their last region," he says. "We can say the
full-scale phase of our military operation is
over."
General Troshev says Shatoi and nine other
villages in the Argun Gorge were seized from the
rebels.
/// SECOND ACT TROSHEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND
FADE UNDER ///
"Our forces have completely liberated the Argun
Gorge from the rebels," he says. "Of course,
there are still small rebel gangs operating
there, but we will catch and exterminate them."
General Troshev says there will be a gradual
withdrawal of troops, saying, in his words "the
number of soldiers we have now is no longer
necessary." He said special Interior Ministry and
militia troops would continue to search for and
destroy small groups of rebels remaining in the
mountains.
/// OPT /// The Interfax news agency quotes
military sources as saying Moscow would leave a
permanent force of 25-thousand troops in Chechnya
but would start pulling out the majority of
federal forces. /// END OPT ///
The rebels Internet website, "Kavkaz.org" says
rebels in the Shatoi region are still battling
Russian forces and are inflicting heavy
casualties on Russian troops. The website also
lists graphic cases of alleged torture by Russian
forces against Chechens held in the Chernokozovo
detention camp. Russia denies the camp is used
for torture. (Signed)
NEB/EC/GE/KL
29-Feb-2000 09:41 AM EDT (29-Feb-2000 1441 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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