Russians seal off Chechnya_s second city.
Published:
1 November 1999 y., Monday
Russian troops were reported on Sunday to have encircled Gudermes, the second biggest city in Chechnya, as Moscow sent a fresh signal to the leader of the rebel region there was still a chance of political dialogue. Interfax news agency quoted the Russian military command as saying local officials had appealed to residents and rebels to lay down their arms after Russian troops sealed off the city, 30 km (20 miles) east of the Chechen capital Grozny. Gudermes controls a road to Grozny from the east. Russian troops have already approached Grozny from north and northwest, but the military deny immediate plans to storm the city. Interfax quoted the Russian military as saying on Sunday warplanes had hit several targets in the past 24 hours, including the villages of Tolstoi-Yurt, Chishki and Chechen-Aul. Moscow says its military campaign is aimed against Islamic guerrilla groups based in Chechnya who have launched raids on neighboring Dagestan and whom Moscow blames for bomb blasts which killed nearly 300 people. Russian air raids on Chechnya and its land attack have triggered an exodus of nearly 190,000 refugees. The Chechen leadership denies any connection with the bomb blasts and say Russia_s real aim is to end the self-proclaimed independence of the region, which has been outside Moscow_s control since a 1994-96 war.
Šaltinis:
Interfax news agency
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
President Dalia Grybauskaitė sent a letter to the participants of the ceremony of unveiling a commemorative plaque in Washington Square in Vilnius to mark the seventieth anniversary of the US Department of State Declaration on the Non-Recognition of the Annexation of the Baltic States.
more »
President Dalia Grybauskaitė on behalf of herself and the people of Lithuania extended congratulations to His Majesty Albert II, King of the Belgians, on the occasion of Independence Day.
more »
On 20 July at the international conference on Afghanistan in Kabul, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis affirmed that Lithuania would continue fulfilling commitments and contributing to the stabilization and development of Ghor Province.
more »
President Dalia Grybauskaitė presented letters of credence to Žygimantas Pavilionis, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania to the United States of America.
more »
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis welcomed the official launch of European Union-Georgia talks on Association Agreement.
more »
Lithuania’s honorary consuls are expected to contribute consolidated efforts to achieving today’s key tasks of Lithuania’s economic diplomacy – the promotion of Lithuanian exports and attraction of foreign direct investments.
more »
Victory in the Battle of Grunwald (Žalgiris) stands as a symbol signifying the hope of the Lithuanian people to seek freedom and independence, President Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined at the celebration of the 600th Anniversary of the Grunwald Battle.
more »
President Dalia Grybauskaitė, together with Polish President-elect Bronisław Komorowski and prominent Polish state and public figures, took part in the festive celebration of the 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald (Žalgiris).
more »
Yesterday evening, after the wreath-laying ceremony at the Grunwald Monument and the opening of a special exhibition at the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków, President D. Grybauskaitė of Lithuania and President-elect B. Komorowski of Poland had a working dinner together.
more »
Wednesday, 14 July, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, is to meet with her Romanian counterpart, Traian Băsescu, who is to pay an official visit to Lithuania.
more »