20000221

First Russian

unit pulls out

of Chechnya,

battle continues

MOSCOW: A first Russian unit pulled out of Chechnya on Sunday, but fighting still flared in the mountains in the south of the republic where freedom fighters are seeking refuge, ITAR-TASS reported citing the Russian military.

A tank battalion involved in the capture of two key Chechen towns, Argun and Vedeno, left the Khankala military base near the capital Grozny, the news agency cited military officials as saying.

Russia on Friday said that its five-month military operation in Chechnya would soon be over, but freedom fighters were still resisting the army's push south.

Clashes erupted on Sunday around the village of Ushkaloi in the heart of a strategic ravine in southern Chechnya where Russian forces have been trying to squeeze out the guerrillas.

The Russian military admitted that Chechen forces were still putting up fierce resistance, ITAR-TASS reported.

Having seized the capital Grozny and a swathe of northern Chechnya, Moscow is now striving to wrest control over the mountainous south, where rebels were able to regroup during the previous 1994-96 war and mount a stunning reversal of fortunes.

Russia fears that this time around the militant fightback could start on Wednesday, the 56th anniversary of Stalin's deportation of the Chechen people en masse to Kazakhstan.

In anticipation, Russian forces are cracking down on freedom of movement in the republic, preventing civilians from travelling within Chechnya and beefing up checkpoints in the south of the republic.

Only people holding special passes would be allowed through checkpoints set up on Chechen roads, officers said.ÑAFP