http://www.news.com.au/ The Australian Chechens railroaded back into war zone From AFP and AP correspondents in Sleptsovskaya and Makhachkala 23dec99 DETERMINED to force Chechen refugees back home, Russian soldiers hooked an engine to railway carriages filled with Chechens and towed them toward the war-shattered republic. Frightened children chased the trains screaming for their parents, fearing they would be left behind. About 5km on, adult refugees blocked the tracks with their bodies to stop the forced relocation. The operation was a new development in Russia's efforts to try to return some of the 250,000 people who have fled the breakaway republic. After three months of heavy fighting, Russia said yesterday it had fixed a date for the capture of the Chechen capital of Grozny as fierce clashes raged at the foot of rebel strongholds in the mountains. But Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev denied Russian troops would storm the city before tomorrow, as reported earlier on state television. The attempt to move the third-class sleeper cars in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia, where about 7000 refugees were living, began last Friday morning with the wagons jostling into motion unexpectedly. Children studying in a tent school nearby were separated from their parents. "The children ran from the tent yelling," said Rosa Gaitaiva, with her arms draped around the neck of her daughter, Imam, 7, who was in the school but managed to jump on to the moving train. The refugees, most of whom are Muslims observing the fasting month of Ramadan, were also separated from a kitchen where they were preparing dinner to eat after sundown. "The rhythm of the fast was broken," said a worn-out Zaindi Batishev, 66, stubble covering his sagging cheeks. The train stopped about 5km away for a few hours, and when officials tried to move it again, the refugees stood on the tracks in front of the locomotive. Russian soldiers fired two bursts from assault rifles above the people's heads, said 25-year-old Ibragim Mensiyev. The track was cleared, but the train did not immediately leave. Refugees on the train said they did not want to return to Chechnya because they feared fighting in the forests around their towns and because many houses had been destroyed as the Russian army rolled over the rebel-held areas. Many also feared Russian soldiers who, they claim, beat and sometimes kill civilians and have looted the abandoned towns and villages. The aid operation for Chechen refugees has been haphazard and poorly organised, short on tents and food and long on bureaucratic hassles, but Russia insists it can handle the situation. However, Amnesty International said on Tuesday fleeing civilians were being screened, and in some cases detained in at least one "filtration camp", where they were subjected to beatings. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
