DATE=3/6/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L)
NUMBER=2-259873
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A Chechen rebel unit has reportedly
surrendered to Russian troops as both sides battle for
control of Chechnya's southern mountains. Moscow
Correspondent Eve Conant reports a rebel commander is
quoted as saying his men surrendered after they were
unable to break through federal lines to escape.
TEXT: The Interfax news agency reports more than 70
Chechen rebels have laid down their arms as fighting
rages in the Argun Gorge, a strategic canyon that cuts
through Chechnya's mountains to the Georgian border.
The report says several dozen surrendered outright,
and more than 40 injured rebels were captured by
Russian forces. A top Russian commander said Monday
that rebels controlled two small areas in the
mountains, but that federal troops were establishing
firm control of the Argun and Vedeno gorges.
Russian news agencies quote military sources as saying
federal troops had fought off an attack by Chechen
rebels near the village of Komsomolskaya in the Argun
Gorge. But a report by the Associated Press says the
village was seized by rebels late Sunday.
A top Russian Commander, Gennady Troshev, said as many
as one-thousand rebels had been killed by Russian
troops in the past days. But both rebels and Russia's
military have tended to exaggerate enemy casualties.
Commander Troshev said Sunday that dozens of Russian
troops had been killed in recent fighting in the Argun
Gorge, but that the rebels are scared.
/// ACT TROSHEV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE UNDER ///
He says - the rebels are no longer thinking about
amnesty - they are simply running away in groups of
three or five to escape or hide in small villages. He
said other rebels are waiting until the snow melts
when fighting would be easier.
Other news agencies say Russian authorities are under-
reporting federal losses as they continue to battle
for Chechnya's mountainous south.
Chechen rebels have been forced into the mountains,
but pledge to carry out a guerrilla war against
Russian troops.
/// OPT /// Successful hit-and-run attacks in
Russian-controlled territories have embarrassed
Russian authorities and resulted in a growing death
toll for Russian forces. Russia's Armed Forces Chief
of Staff estimates there are as many as five-thousand
rebels operating inside Chechnya. Rebel commanders
have put that estimate closer to 20-thousand.
Neither estimate could be independently confirmed. ///
END OPT ///
A mission of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe has postponed a trip to Chechnya
for several days due to security concerns. The
mission was supposed to depart Monday for Chechnya to
investigate allegations of human rights abuses in the
breakaway republic. (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/GE/LTD/rae
06-Mar-2000 10:53 AM EDT (06-Mar-2000 1553 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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