BinZiad
29-08-2002, 15:13
Chechnya: Russia Counts The Cost
Russia's biggest military disaster since war resumed in Chechnya in
1999 comes amid a new rebel offensive.
Russia's prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov has said that a rebel
rocket probably downed a Russian Mi-26 helicopter in Chechnya on
August 19, although the exact cause of the crash has yet to be
established.
Whatever the final explanation, the death toll, 116 on August 23, now
approaches that in the Kursk submarine tragedy two years ago, and is
Moscow's single biggest loss of life in Chechnya in a day since war
resumed there three years ago. It shows that the conflict is
continuing with unabated ferocity.
The helicopter plunged into a minefield near the Russian military
base at Khankala outside Grozny. Built to carry just 80 people, it
was holding almost twice that number - an indication in itself that
the Russian military is reluctant to travel by road, even in areas
like northern Chechnya far from the rebel heartlands.
Many in Chechnya had been expecting an offensive by pro-independence
rebels on August 6, the sixth anniversary of the storming of Grozny,
which led to the rout of federal forces and peace negotiations.
Checkpoints around the capital were strengthened and put on alert,
and the border with Ingushetia was closed.
In the event, August 6 passed without incident. The anticipated rebel
attack began on August 14-15 after Russian forces had been lulled by
ten days of quiet.
A large number of fighters began to infiltrate villages in the Urus-
Martan and Achkhoi-Martan regions in western Chechnya. Fighting
lasted until the evening of August 16 in the villages of Shalazhi,
Gekhi-Chu, Martan-Chu, Yandi-Kotar, Stary Achkhoi, Tangi-Chu and
Roshni-Chu, when the fighters left the villages and retreated into
the hills.
The rebels said they scored big successes and inflicted heavy
casualties, destroying command posts and armoured vehicles. They also
claim to have attacked the mountain village of Vedeno in south-east
Chechnya.
A press release issued by the Russian military in Chechnya called
what had happened a "bandit raid typical for Chechnya», which,
according to the main Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky, was
repulsed by a «planned operation by special forces».
The rebels called the attack a «dress rehearsal». «It is only part of
a military plan, adopted by the Chechen field commanders», rebel
spokesman Rizvan Arsanakayev told the Chechenpress news agency. «We
needed to test the level of cooperation between different units of
the Chechen armed forces».
During the second Chechen campaign, the rebel fighters have been much
more dispersed and disorganized. Prominent warrior Shamil Basayev,
who has been in charge of recent operations, said that their actions
had now become «much more coordinated». Indeed, in the last three
months, there's been clear evidence of the various factions burying
their differences.
In May rebel president Aslan Maskhadov made peace with his
predecessor, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. In July, the guerrillas' website
kavkaz.org announced that Maskhadov and Basayev had met and agreed a
new division of powers. While Maskhadov remained president and
commander-in-chief, Basayev was proclaimed head of a newly
created «defence council», making him de facto in charge of military
operations.
At the same meeting, Maskhadov attempted a reconciliation with
commander Khamzat Gelayev, whom he had earlier condemned as a
traitor. He also created a new «information committee» to be headed
by another veteran Chechen politician, Akhmed Zakayev, charged with
coordinating all the information on the rebel side.
There are two explanations for these developments. Either Maskhadov
is abandoning his aim of seeking a political solution for Chechnya
and relying on violence alone. Or, as seems more likely, he is using
renewed fighting to try and frighten Russia and force it to conclude
that the cost of continued war is too high.
The second explanation is supported by the recent meeting in Zurich
between Zakayev and the former secretary of the Russian Security
Council, Ivan Rybkin.
The rebels are using the summer season to threaten a new offensive.
Basayev has claimed that the fighters are strong enough to «organise
wide-scale military operations throughout the whole territory of the
country».
The federal military say that the Chechen guerrillas are a spent
force, with only a few hundred men at their disposal, set against an
estimated 80,000 Russian soldiers in Chechnya.
Ordinary Chechens are worried by the prospect of an upsurge of
fighting in their republic. Many, who left refugee camps in
Ingushetia earlier this year to return to Chechnya, are now leaving
once again.
Milana Ilayeva is one of those who has returned to Ingushetia
recently. «A lot of armoured personnel carries came into our village,
Staraya Sunzha, on the edge of Grozny», she said. «If fighting starts
again, it will be civilians who will suffer».
More fighting was reported from the village of Golsonchu on August
21, with the rebels claiming to have destroyed a Russian armoured
column.
Timur Aliev is a freelance journalist based in Nazran, Ingushetia
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
www.iwpr.net
Russia's biggest military disaster since war resumed in Chechnya in
1999 comes amid a new rebel offensive.
Russia's prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov has said that a rebel
rocket probably downed a Russian Mi-26 helicopter in Chechnya on
August 19, although the exact cause of the crash has yet to be
established.
Whatever the final explanation, the death toll, 116 on August 23, now
approaches that in the Kursk submarine tragedy two years ago, and is
Moscow's single biggest loss of life in Chechnya in a day since war
resumed there three years ago. It shows that the conflict is
continuing with unabated ferocity.
The helicopter plunged into a minefield near the Russian military
base at Khankala outside Grozny. Built to carry just 80 people, it
was holding almost twice that number - an indication in itself that
the Russian military is reluctant to travel by road, even in areas
like northern Chechnya far from the rebel heartlands.
Many in Chechnya had been expecting an offensive by pro-independence
rebels on August 6, the sixth anniversary of the storming of Grozny,
which led to the rout of federal forces and peace negotiations.
Checkpoints around the capital were strengthened and put on alert,
and the border with Ingushetia was closed.
In the event, August 6 passed without incident. The anticipated rebel
attack began on August 14-15 after Russian forces had been lulled by
ten days of quiet.
A large number of fighters began to infiltrate villages in the Urus-
Martan and Achkhoi-Martan regions in western Chechnya. Fighting
lasted until the evening of August 16 in the villages of Shalazhi,
Gekhi-Chu, Martan-Chu, Yandi-Kotar, Stary Achkhoi, Tangi-Chu and
Roshni-Chu, when the fighters left the villages and retreated into
the hills.
The rebels said they scored big successes and inflicted heavy
casualties, destroying command posts and armoured vehicles. They also
claim to have attacked the mountain village of Vedeno in south-east
Chechnya.
A press release issued by the Russian military in Chechnya called
what had happened a "bandit raid typical for Chechnya», which,
according to the main Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky, was
repulsed by a «planned operation by special forces».
The rebels called the attack a «dress rehearsal». «It is only part of
a military plan, adopted by the Chechen field commanders», rebel
spokesman Rizvan Arsanakayev told the Chechenpress news agency. «We
needed to test the level of cooperation between different units of
the Chechen armed forces».
During the second Chechen campaign, the rebel fighters have been much
more dispersed and disorganized. Prominent warrior Shamil Basayev,
who has been in charge of recent operations, said that their actions
had now become «much more coordinated». Indeed, in the last three
months, there's been clear evidence of the various factions burying
their differences.
In May rebel president Aslan Maskhadov made peace with his
predecessor, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. In July, the guerrillas' website
kavkaz.org announced that Maskhadov and Basayev had met and agreed a
new division of powers. While Maskhadov remained president and
commander-in-chief, Basayev was proclaimed head of a newly
created «defence council», making him de facto in charge of military
operations.
At the same meeting, Maskhadov attempted a reconciliation with
commander Khamzat Gelayev, whom he had earlier condemned as a
traitor. He also created a new «information committee» to be headed
by another veteran Chechen politician, Akhmed Zakayev, charged with
coordinating all the information on the rebel side.
There are two explanations for these developments. Either Maskhadov
is abandoning his aim of seeking a political solution for Chechnya
and relying on violence alone. Or, as seems more likely, he is using
renewed fighting to try and frighten Russia and force it to conclude
that the cost of continued war is too high.
The second explanation is supported by the recent meeting in Zurich
between Zakayev and the former secretary of the Russian Security
Council, Ivan Rybkin.
The rebels are using the summer season to threaten a new offensive.
Basayev has claimed that the fighters are strong enough to «organise
wide-scale military operations throughout the whole territory of the
country».
The federal military say that the Chechen guerrillas are a spent
force, with only a few hundred men at their disposal, set against an
estimated 80,000 Russian soldiers in Chechnya.
Ordinary Chechens are worried by the prospect of an upsurge of
fighting in their republic. Many, who left refugee camps in
Ingushetia earlier this year to return to Chechnya, are now leaving
once again.
Milana Ilayeva is one of those who has returned to Ingushetia
recently. «A lot of armoured personnel carries came into our village,
Staraya Sunzha, on the edge of Grozny», she said. «If fighting starts
again, it will be civilians who will suffer».
More fighting was reported from the village of Golsonchu on August
21, with the rebels claiming to have destroyed a Russian armoured
column.
Timur Aliev is a freelance journalist based in Nazran, Ingushetia
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
www.iwpr.net