-Caveat Lector- Russians, Rebels Send Reinforcements By ARSEN MALAYEV .c The Associated Press MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) - Russian security forces and Islamic rebels amassed troops and weaponry Monday in a rugged Caucasus Mountain region where the militants have seized several villages. Russian troops accused rebels of shooting at Russian helicopters, including one carrying the armed forces' chief of staff. He was not hurt and the aircraft was only slightly damaged, said Timur Abdullayev, a spokesman for the government of the southern republic of Dagestan. The standoff, one of the worst in the area since Russia's disastrous 1994-96 war in neighboring Chechnya, began when Chechen militants moved into Dagestan on Saturday and occupied several villages just across the border in a rocky area accessible only by rough gravel roads and with few phone lines. Federal and local troops moved in. Russian helicopter gunships fired on the rebels Saturday and Sunday, but did not dislodge them. The gunmen appeared to be members of the Wahhabi Islamic movement who support independence for Russia's mostly Islamic republics in the Caucasus. Chechnya has had de facto independence since the Russian troops withdrew three years ago, though Moscow still claims it is part of Russia. Moscow has placed security forces along Chechnya's borders to try to fence it off, but warlords and criminal gangs roam the area and often venture into neighboring regions. The latest conflict was complicated by yet another Russian government shake-up in Moscow. President Boris Yeltsin fired Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin and his government on Monday, the day after Stepashin flew to Dagestan to try to defuse the crisis. It was unclear how the changes would affect Russia's approach to the Caucasus. Russia's Security Council met Monday to discuss the conflict. Yeltsin's choice for prime minister, Vladimir Putin, head of the main successor agency to the KGB, said the fighting contributed to Stepashin's ouster and he threatened to introduce a ``special regime'' in the republics bordering Chechnya, Russian news reports said. He did not elaborate. Stepashin warned Monday, ``We really may lose Dagestan,'' according to the Interfax news agency. ``The situation is very serious.'' Four Russian policemen were accidentally killed Sunday when Russian helicopter gunships mistook them for rebels, the Dagestani Interior Ministry press service said Monday. In addition, at least 15 Russian troops were wounded in fighting with the rebels. The ministry also said the bodies of four militants were discovered Monday and five wounded gunmen were captured. Nearly 4,000 civilians had abandoned the captured villages by Monday, according to Mayor Said Amirov of Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala. Dagestan's government sent trucks to evacuate others and was setting up refugee camps at resorts and summer camps. Refugees who arrived in Makhachkala said the rebel gunmen didn't threaten them and asked their help in introducing Islamic law. Dagestan's government opposes the Wahhabis and has shown no sign of splitting from Moscow, largely because its weak economy is heavily dependent on federal funding. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
