Moscow halts troop withdrawal

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MAY 12. The Russian military is changing tactics in Chechnya for the second time this year in what amounts to tacit recognition of its failure to deal with the continuing rebel insurgency in the region.

Russia's new Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov, has ordered a halt to troop withdrawals from Chechnya announced earlier this year. Under a plan approved by the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, in January, the forces stationed in Chechnya were to be slashed from 80,000 to 50,000 troops. However, after just 5,000 troops had been pulled out Mr. Ivanov told a meeting of military and security chiefs in Chechnya over the weekend that there would be no further withdrawals.

The stay-put order will entail a change in tactics as the pullout plan called for removing the bulk of army units from Chechnya. With Moscow claiming to have crushed organised rebel resistance, the emphasis in the military operation was to be placed on special anti-terrorist forces from the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry. However, the spring flareup of rebel activity forced the Russian command to keep the Defence Ministry forces in Chechnya.

Military sources in Chechnya said rebels had dramatically stepped up attacks on Russian forces over the past month. Last Sunday saw the fiercest battle in the region for over a year, when about 50 rebels ambushed a Russian military convoy in the town of Argun and for many hours beat back attempts by Russian troops reinforced with tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships to dislodge them from their positions inside a five- storeyed building. The Moscow-installed civilian administration in Chechnya was ordered to move out of the capital Grozny last week because of security concerns, just a fortnight after it had moved in.

Russia's Interior Minister, Mr. Boris Gryzlov, has announced a plan to deploy military patrols in Chechen towns and villages during the night. Until now Russian troops would barricaded themselves inside big garrisons at night and let the rebels take over control. The new tactics will require dispersing small military units throughout the republic. This will expose them to more hit-and-run attacks by rebels and may increase Russian losses.

Since February the military stopped giving weekly casualty figures in Chechnya. As of February, Russia lost close to 2,000 soldiers and over 5,000 were wounded since October 1999, when federal forces launched a second bid in five years to crush Chechen separatists. Moscow has consistently refused to hold peace talks with the rebel leader, Mr. Aslan Maskhadov.

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Section  : International
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