Kavkaz News: Intense Fighting In The Mountains
The following transcript is taken from….http://www.chechnya.xnet.is/…the official news agency of the Chechen rebels.
TRANSCRIPT BEGINS
Mon, February 28th, 2000
Kavkaz Center reports:
According to the Chechen command bitter fighting
continues near the village of Aslanbek Sheripov. For seven
days the Russians, supported by MI-24 helicopters and
armoured vehicles, have attacked the Chechen positions
uninterruptedly. The village itself was bombed with
so-called vacuum bombs [FAEs]. Several times the Russians
managed to approach close to the village.
Units of the
Chechen mujahideen repulsed all Russian attacks. At the
south-western fringe of the village fierce face-to-face
fighting took place. The mujahideen succeeded in knocking
out three BMPs and in killing up to 50 Russians. The
mujahideen suffered 4 casualties.
The fighting in this
region is not letting up. After every unsuccessful assault
the Russians attack the village with their air force and
their artillery.
Using the mountain path along the route
Kenkhi-Kiri-Dai, the Russians continue to move additional
armoured troops into the fighting zone. Simultaneously,
airborne operations of so-called elite forces of the Russian
terrorists are being carried out on the commanding heights
of Khorsenoy and in the direction of Khal-Keloy. The Chechen
mujahideen, applying the tactics of mobile defence and
unexpected attacks, successfully prevent the Russians from
taking the military initiative. Due to their high casualties
the Russians are forced to deploy more and more troops into
the combat zone.
The Chechen vice-president Vakha Arsanov
has made it known that the mujahideen on Sunday managed to
shoot down a Russian transport helicopter of the type, which
because of its size and shape is called "Flying Cow" by the
Chechens. The helicopter went down from a height of 30-40
metres. According to Chechen fighters the helicopter was
shot down moments before landing in order to drop
troops--not less the 50 soldiers are said to have been in
it.
The commanders of the Shatoy region, Khamzat Gilayev
and Baudi Bakuyev, consider the military situation in this
combat zone "difficult, but controllable and predictable".
This they said to Chechen journalists after a commanders'
meeting. According to Khamzat Gilayev, the main combat
activity is taking place in the region of the villages of
Khorsenoy, Khal-Keloy, Aslanbek Sheripov, Ushkaloy,
Ulus-Kert, Zonakh, and Sharo-Argun. He says the Russians
have suffered heavy casualties and lost much equipment.
During recent days the mujahideen shot down 6 helicopters
and knocked out 11 armoured vehicles. Up to 400 Russians
were killed. Bakuyev says his fighters have carried out
several special operations against units of the enemy near
Khal-Keloy and Ushkaloy. The Russians were forced to stop
their advance, to entrench themselves, and to wait for
reinforcement. Abu Movsayev (Head of the Special
Administration of the ChRI's State-committee of Defence)
says that, according to Chechen information, all in all nine
concentration camps for Chechens have been built up in the
occupied territories of Chechnya and in Russia. The most
important ones are situated in Chernokozovo, in Urus-Martan,
in Doykur-Aul, and in the Staropromyslovsky District of the
Chechen capital. Beyond the Chechen frontiers concentration
camps exist in North Ossetia and in Stavropol Region.
Special prisons have been established in Nalchik
(Kabardino-Balkaria) and in Pyatigorsk.
The camps in
Chernokozovo and in Mozdok (North Ossetia) are considered
the most horrible ones. According to Movsayev biological and
chemical experiments are being carried out on the detainees
at the top secret camp in Mozdok.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri, February 25, 2000
Kavkaz-Tsentr reports:
The fighting in
the Argun Valley is intensifying.
Russian formations are
trying to fortify themselves on the commanding heights in
order to gain control of the roads from Shatoy to other
villages of the region. The Russian air force is carrying
out pattern bombings of the villages where, in addition to
the local population, a great number of refugees is living.
The Chechen mujahideen have occupied positions outside of
the villages in order to lighten the situation of the
civilians, but the Russian are continuing to murder women,
children, and the elderly, making use of vacuum bombs,
napalm, and operative-tactical rockets.
The most vehement
fighting is taking place near Khal-Keloy, Ushkaloy, and
Aslanbek Sheripov. The units of the mujahideen attacked
successfully several times near Khorsenoy. There is no clear
front-line: the mujahideen and the Russians, supported by
aircrafts and helicopters, are engaging in combat activities
at various places in the combat area. The Chechen fighters
are attacking the Russians' flanks and from
behind.
According to the Chechen command the Russians
suffered heavy casualties. During the last 24 hours 90
Russians are said to have died whilst the Chechens have lost
3 mujahideen.
Since the beginning of the fighting with the
Russian aggressors the 'Peacekeeping Army of the Majlis of
the Muslims of Ichkeriya and Dagestan' has lost 345
mujahideen. This was made known by the Amir of the Majlis,
Shamil Basayev. During the fights in Dagestan the
Peacekeeping Army lost 112 men, and since the beginning of
the Russian aggression against Chechnya another 233 fighters
have fallen.
Among those killed in action are 64
Dagestanis, 27 Arabs, 29 Ingush, 20 Karachayans, 9
Circassians, 12 Turks, 8 Kabardinians, 13 Nogayans, 10
Russian Muslims, 13 Tatars, 25 men of other peoples of the
Caucasus and the Volga region, and 115
Chechens.
According to Shamil Basayev, since the
beginning of the fighting in Dagestan the 'Peacekeeping
Army' has lost 7 commanders.
According to the head of the
'Special Administration of the State-committee of Defence of
the ChRI', Abu Movsayev, the Chechen side has gathered
information on the secret concentration camp for Chechens
near Mozdok (North Ossetia). He says detainees of this camp
are killed in biological and chemical experiments. A
top-secret group of scientists from Moscow is said to work
there, whose task is to develop bacteriological, biological,
and chemical weapons. Not one single prisoner has left the
concentration camp alive.
About 300 Chechens are said to
be kept in the camp. The detainees are periodically poisoned
with colourless and odourless aerosols in hermetically
sealed chambers. The victims of these experiments are burnt
in special mobile crematoriums.
According to Abu Movsayev
his service has very reliable sources for this
information.
Meanwhile, in the concentration camp of
Chernokozovo, the Russian sadists continue to kill and to
maim their Chechen victims.
The Chechen general public
prosecutors' office has collected the testimonies of 13
eye-witnesses reporting the rape of corpses of Chechen
detainees who were tortured to
death.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu, February 24th, 2000
Kavkaz-Tsentr reports:
The fighting
in the south of Chechnya continues. The Russians are moving
in the direction of Shatoy. Russian bombers and helicopters
are attacking the Chechen positions. 13 'Scud' and SS21
rockets were fired on Shatoy during the last 24
hours.
The Chechen mujahideen are counter-attacking the
enemy; the most bitter fights are going on near the village
of Khal-Keloy. Making use of the anti-aircraft systems
'Igla' and 'Strela' and high-calibre machine-guns, the
mujahideen managed to bring down another two Russian
helicopters. All in all, during the last 5 days the
mujahideen shot down 5 helicopters.
According to the
Chechen side 40 Spetsnaz-terrorists were killed near
Khal-Keloy.
In Islamabad (Pakistan) a scientific
conference was held to commemorate the 56th anniversary of
the deportation of the Chechens and other Muslim peoples of
the North Caucasus. It was organized by the Islamic
organization "Djamaat ul-Islami" and other Islamic
organizations. Russia was blamed for its past and present
crimes, and the Pakistani government was called upon to
recognize the independence of Chechnya.
The Chechen
ex-president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev took part in the
conference as a guest of honour. This is will be the last
item of his diplomatic mission to Pakistan.
For two days
the Kremlin's propagandists have been reporting "fighting
near the village of Omi-Chu" near the frontier to
Georgia--an example of their method of virtual warfare. This
village does not exist, and there have been no fights near
the Georgian frontier.
The Chechen side considers the
invention of this village to be related to the Russians'
need to present a threat from beyond the Georgian frontier
to their public.
Hundreds of refugees from Dzhokhar and
former detainees of Russian concentration camps have
reported atrocities carried out by the Russians there.
Inhabitants of Dzhokhar report mass executions in the
Chechen capital. Lida Belkharoyeva from Ingushetia, who
wanted to get her ill sister out of Dzhokhar, says she
witnessed the shooting of about one hundred inhabitants of
the suburb of Maas (former Kalinina). Most of the victims
were women and the elderly or ill Chechens whom she knew
personally. Lida Belkharoyeva herself hid in a cellar of a
bombed out house. Her sister was killed by Russian
marauders.
People having escaped from Chernokozovo
continue to report about the satanic torture and the raping
in this concentration camp. According to the latest reports
about 2,000 people are imprisoned in Chernokozovo. In recent
times rumours are circulating concerning another
concentration camp near Mozdok (North Ossetia).
In Ingushetia mass demonstrations of Chechen refugees against the Russian occupation of Chechnya took place. The demonstrators demanded an end to the Russian war crimes in Chechnya, the punishment of the organizers of the aggression against the independent Chechen state, and the withdrawal of the Russians from Chechnya.
-----------------------------------
February 23rd
Kavkaz-Tsentr reports:
February 23rd in Chechnya is
the 'Day of the Resurrection of the Nation'. 56 years ago
the Stalinist regime deported the Chechen people and other
Muslim peoples of the Caucasus and of the Crimea to Siberia
and to Kazakhstan. About two-thirds of the Chechen nation
perished because of the cold, hunger, and mass punishment.
During the military operations to deport the Chechens in the
village of Khaybakh 700 women, children, and elderly people
were burnt alive. On the shores of Lake Galanchozh about
6,000 Chechens were shot or drowned, 90% of them women,
children, and ill elderly people.
For 13 years the
Chechen people lived in banishment. During this time the
Kremlin regime tried to extinguish the Chechen nation by
provoking mass riots and punishments. The most vehement
uprising took place in 1950 in Leninagorsk (Kazakhstan),
where unarmed Chechens unexpectedly attacked thousands of
Russian soldiers who were armed to the teeth and belonged to
the regular army or to NKVD units. The fighting in
Leninagorsk lasted for more than two months. In the
remembrance of the Chechen people it will always be an
example for Chechen heroism. During this time, when the
occupied Chechen territory was settled with criminals from
all over Russia, the resistance in Chechnya was lead by the
legendary partisan Khasukha Magomedov. He fought against the
communist Russian occupiers for 40 years, from 1937 to 1976.
In 1976 the 78-years-old Khasukha died gun in hand, fighting
against special units of the KGB in the Shatoy
District.
In the early days of the Stalinist Empire, in
the late thirties and early forties, some kind of Chechen
statehood had been established under the command of Khasan
Israpilov. His units fought against the Russian communist
gangs for seven years.
In 1991 Chechenya declared its
independence once again under the leadership of President
Dzhokhar Dudayev. In 1993 Dudayev declared February 23rd a
national holiday, the 'Day of the Resurrection of the
Nation'. Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the
Deportation memorial complex in Grozny/Dzhokhar-Gala,
Dudayev said that the Chechens are not complaining about
their fate, but are going to continue their fight for
freedom and independence forever.
The Chechen ex-president
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev is still in Pakistan. There was news
that the Pakistani government was going to expel him due to
diplomatic pressure, but according to the Pakistani foreign
minister this is not true.
Islamic organizations in
Pakistan, especially the 'Djamaat ul-Islami', are calling
upon the Pakistani government to adopt more determined
measures against Russia.
The fighting in the mountains has
become fiercer. Another three helicopters were shot
down.
The Russians are moving towards the villages of
Sharo-Argun, Khorsenoy, Ushkaloy, Aslambek Sheripov, and
Ulus-Kert. The Chechen mujahideen are defending their
positions and are counter-attacking. Near the village of
Aslambek Sheripov the mujahideen shot down a helicopter with
paratroopers. The helicopter went down and burned. Two MI-42
helicopters were shot down near Khal-Kiloy.
At the
entrance to the Argun Valley the mujahideen attacked near
Ulus-Kert. 4 armoured vehicles were destroyed, and one
"Grad" rocket launcher was captured. About 70 Russians were
killed. The Chechens lost two mujahideen. Face-to-face
fighting is going on near Ushkaloy and Khorsenoy. The
Russians are making use of aircraft and helicopters. Bitter
fighting is reported from the region of
Sharo-Argun.
Shamil Basayev presided over a meeting of
commanders of the Dagestani mujahideen in Chechnya. Basayev
told Kavkaz-Tsentr's correspondent that about 1,000
mujahideen from Dagestan are fighting in the Islamic
Peacekeeping Force in Chechnya.
Basayev repudiated
Russian reports that he had left Chechnya for convalescence.
"I'm healthy enough to fight against the disgusting,
godless, and vile aggressors. They are fighting the devil's
fight, and we finally have to overcome these Satanists,"
says Shamil
Basayev.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tue, February 22, 2000
Kavkaz-Tsentr reports:
According to
the Chechen command combat activities are taking place in
the south of Chechnya. The Russians continue their efforts
to occupy the main commanding heights in the Sharoy
District. The Chechen units, applying the tactics of mobile
defence, are hindering the aggressor's advance.
The
Chechen side this morning has made it known that one of the
forward units of the Russians has moved towards
Sharo-Argun.
The villages is being bombed by the Russian
air force. The mujahideen have occupied positions outside
Sharo-Argun in order not to endanger the civilians in the
village (among them a lot of refugees). Despite this, the
Russians are carrying out attacks on it, making use of
vacuum bombs and tactical rockets. Many civilian inhabitants
of Sharo-Argun have been killed.
The Chechen
vice-president Vakha Arsanov has denied the Kremlin's
reports that the Chechens were preparing activities related
to the eve of February 23rd.
He says that the activities
of the Chechen army don't depend on any remembrance day or
anniversary. The mujahideen are fulfilling their duty to God
and to their homeland. The aggressors are being defeated by
the mujahideen every day, not only on holidays, says Vakha
Arsanov.
February 23th is the anniversary of the
Stalinist deportation of the Chechen people to Central Asia
and was declared a national holiday by Chechnya's first
president Dzhokhar Dudayev. It is called the "Day of the
Resurrection of the Nation" in order to indicate that the
Chechens are not willing to give pleasure to their enemies'
hearts by weeping and mourning about past
suffering.
Though the Chechen mujahideen left the village
of Duba-Yurt a few days ago the Russians are continuing to
destroy the village with artillery and aviation. It is being
attacked with heavy howitzers and bombers. Formations of the
Russians are imitating fighting by assaulting the empty
heights around the village.
The Chechen units, having
shortened the front-line, are defending the depths of the
Argun Valley. Several units of the mujahideen are carrying
out scouting operations and raids to destroy advance units
of the enemy: near Itum-Kale a unit of the mujahideen
attacked a Russian unit unexpectedly, killing about 20
soldiers. Two mortars and 2 automatic grenade launchers AGS
were taken as booty.
According to the Chechen side the
Russians are concentrating their forces around the entrance
of the Argun Valley and are continuing to land troops in the
area around Itum-Kale, Khorsenoy, and
Sharo-Argun.
TRANSCRIPT
ENDS