Posted on 08/27/2003 11:11:30 PM PDT by Pikamax
VLADIKAVKAZ - Fighting in Chechnya and land mine explosions killed six soldiers and riot police and wounded 21 in the previous 24 hours, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Wednesday.
The violence, a daily feature of life in the small southern republic, came as Chechen election officials begin registering candidates for the republic's Oct. 5 presidential election.
The Kremlin has billed the race as a key step on the road to peace, a move that will establish more local authority in the independence-minded republic.
The election, together with the adoption this spring of a new constitution that cemented Chechnya's status as part of Russia, are Moscow's two main peace efforts, aimed at bringing stability to a region beset by a nearly a decade of chaos and war.
The first four candidates to be registered were head of the Moscow-supported Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrov, businessman Malik Saidullayev, Grozny professor Avkhat Khanchukayev and businessman Khusein Dzhabrailov, deputy director general of Moscow's massive Rossiya hotel, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. A possible 11 candidates may qualify to run, but officials said it will take days before they finish going through the paperwork for all the others.
Critics have questioned the legitimacy of holding an election while conditions of war persist, saying they fear election is simply an attempt to legitimize the rule of Kadyrov, who rights groups say is deeply distrusted by many Chechens.
The Kremlin has refused to negotiate with rebel leaders, whom it considers terrorists, and instead has promoted measures aimed at chipping away at the insurgents' influence. The rebels, however, have given no indication that they intend to stop their guerrilla-like attacks.
In the last 24 hours, rebels strafed federal outposts 17 times, killing one serviceman and wounding seven others, the Chechen official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Soldiers near the village of Elistanzhi in the southern Vedeno district clashed with a group of rebels in a battle that left one soldier dead and five wounded, the Chechen official said. Two rebels were also killed.
A military car carrying riot police exploded on a land mine near the town of Achkhoi-Martan late Tuesday, killing two police officers and wounding three, the official said. Two more riot police offices were killed when their car came under rebel fire in the Chechen capital, Grozny.
Russian aviation bombed suspected rebel bases throughout Chechnya, and federal troops rounded up at least 160 people in security sweeps that have been criticized by human rights groups and residents for brutalizing civilians in the predominantly Muslim region.
Russian forces have been bogged down in Chechnya since 1999, when they returned to the region after rebel raids on a neighboring region and a series of deadly apartment-house bombings in Russian cities that were blamed on the rebels. Before that, they fought a 1994-96 war with the separatists that ended in a cease-fire and de facto independence - but widespread chaos - for the region.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.