DATE=3/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-259813
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's military confirms that Chechen rebels
ambushed and killed 37 Russian troops and seriously
injured 29 on the outskirts of the Chechen capital,
Grozny. Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant reports the
attack, in Russian-occupied territory, has sparked
fears that Moscow's forces could be facing a
protracted hit-and-run guerrilla war in Chechnya.
TEXT: Russia's military says rebels ambushed the
column of Interior Ministry troops with grenades and
machine-gun fire. Officials say the unit was attacked
as it entered the Staropromyslovky district of the
capital, Grozny, which has been under federal control
since early February. An Interior Ministry soldier in
Grozny, Mikhail Gorankin, described the attack on
Russian television.
/// GORANKIN RUSSIAN ACT--IN FULL AND FADE UNDER ///
"It is clear the attack was prepared in advance," he
says. "We've already carried out a `mopping-up
operation' in the area but the rebels took advantage
of the foggy weather and escaped."
The Kremlin's Chechnya spokesman, Sergey
Yastrzhembsky, says the battle lasted several hours.
/// YASTRZHEMBSKY RUSSIAN ACT--IN & FADE UNDER ///
"The heaviest losses came after the rebels used flame-
throwers against two of the vehicles," he says. "The
troops could not pursue the rebels because they had
mined their positions and exit routes."
The deadly ambush has highlighted the rebels' ability
to stage successful hit-and-run attacks against
Russian troops, even in areas heavily patrolled by
Russian soldiers. Chechen rebels have pledged to
carry on a guerilla war against Russian troops, but
top Russian commanders had claimed they lack the
manpower and public support to do so.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are bombarding Chechnya's
mountains with air and artillery attacks, to try to
flush rebels from their mountain hiding places.
Russian warplanes have been flying as many as 100
sorties per day over the Argun Gorge and other
mountain targets.
The Kremlin's new human-rights envoy for Chechnya,
Vladimir Kalamanov, says Russia will open a human-
rights office in Chechnya in the coming weeks. He
said Moscow will allow two officials from the Council
of Europe to be stationed there, with the
understanding that the Europeans will not speak
directly to reporters or communicate independently
with Council of Europe officials in Strasbourg.
Russia has denied allegations its troops have
committed atrocities in Chechnya, and has tried to
block international organizations from independently
monitoring human rights abuses in the war zone.
/// REST OPT ///
The first shipment of aid from the United Nations
refugee agency arrived in Grozny this week, with food
and supplies for an estimated 20-thousand civilians
still living in the ruins of the Chechen capital. U-N
officials said the needs of Chechen population were
"tremendous," and described the region as devastated.
(Signed)
NEB/EC/GE/WTW
03-Mar-2000 10:36 AM EDT (03-Mar-2000 1536 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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