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Russia steps up shelling on rebel positions |
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August 3, 2000
NAZRAN, Russia (AP) - A pro-Russian official in Chechnya was killed when a bomb ripped through his car Wednesday, in what federal forces alleged was part of a campaign by rebels to keep local leaders from cooperating with Moscow. The bomb detonated as Movsar Shamsayev stepped out of his car, killing him instantly, an official with the Chechen civil administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. Shamsayev was in charge of agriculture in Chechnya's Urus-Martan region, located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of the capital Grozny. The Interfax news agency reported that he had received death threats before. Though it wasn't immediately clear who set off the bomb, a Russian military spokesman claimed that rebels set the bomb to intimidate Chechens who work with the Russians, Interfax reported. Russian forces took control of most of Chechnya in a military operation that began in September. But the Kremlin has struggled to create a pro-Moscow Chechen government, and insurgents have repeatedly targeted pro-Moscow Chechens as well as Russian soldiers and officials. Meanwhile, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Valery Manilov, claimed Wednesday that the Russians had killed 13,500 rebels in the year since the raids took place, Interfax reported. Russian officials have made similar claims in the past, but they are regarded as highly exaggerated. Manilov did not give a casualty figure for the Russian side, though in the end of July the military said that Russia's total losses in the Caucasus region since last August have reached 2,537 killed and 8,050 injured. Both the Russians and the Chechens have repeatedly exaggerated the other side's losses while playing down their own. Some independent human rights groups estimate the number of Russian deaths is at least double the official figure, but with access to both sides severely restricted, actual casualty figures are impossible to verify. The military also reported Wednesday that two Russian officers stationed in Chechnya's southern Vedeno district had gone missing July 26 and that a search operation was underway, Interfax reported. The rebel-backed Kavkaz.org website claimed that rebels had captured the two officers as part of an operation to "arrest and physically destroy the so-called general staff of the occupying Russian group." Russia refused to identify the two. But the website said they were Lt. Col. Vladimir Barankin, commandant of the Vedeno region, and Lt. Col. Valery Zakharchenko. Russia's offensive is aimed at re-establishing Moscow's control of Chechnya after a 1994-96 war ended in a humiliating withdrawal of Russian troops. The offensive began after Chechnya-based rebels twice invaded the neighboring republic of Dagestan a year ago. Russia also blames Chechen rebels for apartment bombings that killed about 300 people last year. President Vladimir Putin, speaking Wednesday at a ceremony for Russian paratroopers killed in Chechnya, said of the raids in Dagestan that it had been clear for some time the rebels were planning something. He faulted the government for not acting promptly at the time or warning people. "We are used to putting all important things off until tomorrow," Putin said, according to Interfax. "The state could not make the time to start solving the important problems the country was facing." Putin said that the latest military campaign in Chechnya helped keep Russia from breaking up. The campaign was launched shortly after Putin was named prime minister, and his tough talk on Chechnya at the time helped boost his popularity. "Our decisive actions...have prevented the process of the collapse of the state from beginning," Putin said. |
