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Undilah PAS : MENENTANG KEZALIMAN & MENEGAKKAN KEADILAN
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MOSCOW, Dec 2 (AFP) - The war in Chechnya is
becoming an increasingly bloody affair for Russian troops
who had grown used to stringing together victory after
victory since the start of the ground offensive two months
ago.
But a fierce Chechen counter-attack codenamed "Sword of
Justice" has rocked the Russian military back on its heels,
and seen secessionist forces wrest control of two towns
from federal troops.
On Thursday Russia suffered its biggest losses in a
single day since federal troops rolled into the rebel
republic on October 1.
Up to 50 Russian soldiers and officers were killed and
100 wounded Thursday in a battle for control of the
Chechen stronghold of Argun, the AVN military news
agency cited federal sources as saying.
The Russians suffered their first major setbacks in the
east of the breakaway republic, where Grozny said its
forces had captured Novogroznensky and Noibyora, some
50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital.
Moscow admitted losing control of Novogroznensky but
insists it has since been recaptured, a claim the
Chechens hotly dispute.
Its first battlefield successes have signalled a change in
tactics by the Chechen military, but the counter-offensive
does not yet pose a real threat to Moscow, whose forces
still control more than half the renegade republic.
Federal troops have Grozny 80 percent surrounded, with
forward units only two kilometres from the outskirts of a
city which is bombarded day and night.
Most major towns in the republic, including the second city
Gudermes, are already under Russian control.
Nevertheless, Moscow has been forced to concede some
spectacular Chechen successes in recent days, including
the annihilation of a platoon of paratroopers on
reconnaissance in the Vedeno areas in the rebel-held
southern mountains of Chechnya.
That operation left at least 12 Russians dead, or between
40 and 200 according to the Chechens, who have shown
video footage purporting to show the aftermath of the
battle.
The Russian advance has stalled in the past few weeks
around Urus-Martan, some 20 kilometres (12 miles)
southwest of Grozny, a key town which federal troops must
take if they are to completely encircle the Chechen capital.
A relentless barrage of tank, rocket and artillery fire,
combined with intensive air strikes, have so far failed to
dislodge Chechen fighters from the town, which is
reported to have been 80 percent destroyed by the
onslaught.
Hundreds of Russian soldiers have been killed in fierce
battles near the town and the nearby settlement of
Alkhan-Yurt, according to Grozny.
Even in zones in theory controlled by Russian troops, the
situation remains far from satisfactory.
Military commanders complain of constant incursions in
the northern Naurskaya and Shelkovskaya districts
captured in early October, and Goragorsky, in the
northwest, captured on October 15.
The situation has become so serious that Defence
Minister Igor Sergeyev on Thursday announced security
would be beefed up in Russian-held areas of Chechnya in
an effort to end the incursions.
Moscow could need up to three more months to bring the
republic to heel, he admitted Wednesday.
Russia says it has restricted its losses so far to 250 dead,
a figure servicemen's support groups say underplays the
true casualty levels. The Soldiers' Mothers Committee
said recently the figure was nearer 600.
Moscow's troops rolled into Chechnya on October 1,
vowing to set up a security zone in the republic, held to be
a base for "Islamic terrorists."
Moscow blames Muslim extremists for two armed
incursions into the southern Russian republic of
Dagestan over the summer, and a wave of apartment
bombings in September that killed 292 people.
However, Russia has made little secret of its desire to
secure complete control of the rebel republic, which won
de facto independence from Moscow since the 1994-96
which left federal forces humiliated.
Copyright (c) 1999, AFP
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