|
Chechen Combatants Under Maskhadov Kill Six Russian Soldiers
SLEPTSOVSK, Ingushetia, Aug 25 (News Agencies) - Chechen forces loyal to separatist president Aslan Maskhadov carried out 44 attacks in 24 hours on Russian forces, mainly in the southeastern Vedeno region, killing six soldiers and wounding 19, a separatist spokesman said Saturday.
A troop transporter was destroyed at Staropromislovsk, near the capital Grozny, in an attack that left four Russians dead and seven wounded, the spokesman said.
The attacks in the Vedeno region were carried out under Maskhadov's orders, he said, adding that the Chechens lost one fighter overall, with seven wounded.
Russian security forces quoted by the Interfax news agency said a Chechen leader, Movsan Suleimenov, was killed inside Chechnya during an operation at Argun, 10 miles east of Grozny.
Suleimenov was said to be heading a gang that had formerly been headed by his uncle, separatist leader Arbi Barayev, who was killed earlier this year.
Both sides in the Chechen conflict regularly inflate the number of losses of their adversaries while playing down their own losses.
Chechen combatants have stepped up their military activities over the past few days, engaging Russian troops in the southeastern mountainous region as well as in the north, where federal forces first claimed to control the situation after they came back to Chechnya 22 months ago.
The self-styled "anti-terrorist operation" has claimed the lives of at least 3,000 Russian soldiers, according to official figures, but the toll among Chechen civilians and combatants themselves has never been disclosed.
However, human rights groups have strongly criticized the actions of Russian troops in the course of their "operations", citing "excesses" and human rights abuses committed against Chechen civilian populations.
Nearly five years ago, thousands of separatist Chechen fighters invaded Grozny, almost capturing the city and killing hundreds of federal troops.
Though the Russian authorities sent in reinforcements to restore overall control, the operation was a major propaganda coup and was followed only a few months later by a total Russian withdrawal from the Caucasus republic until 1999.
Russian troops returned to Chechnya on October 1, 1999, clamping down on the Chechen freedom movement again.
Moscow announced a gradual scaling down of its military presence in Chechnya earlier this year, but to little effect.
|
