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Russian troops kill 40 rebels during VE-day holiday
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-12 18:45
Russian troops killed up to 40 Chechen rebels in counter-terrorist operations
in the Caucasus while Moscow hosted world leaders for celebrations marking
victory in World War Two, an army spokesman said on Thursday. Fearing a repeat
of Chechen attacks aimed at past May 9 Victory Day parades, authorities
introduced tough security measures across Russia before the arrival of more than
50 heads of state, including US President George W. Bush.
But army spokesman General Ilya Shabalkin denied any link between the Moscow
events and the Chechnya security operation, which ran from May 5 to May 10.
"The special operation was not linked to Victory Day festivities. It was a
number of local special operations, mainly in mountainous regions," he said by
telephone. "We are searching for rebels and we kill those who show resistance."
The three days of summitry and ceremony passed smoothly in the Russian
capital -- much of which was sealed off to the public -- and the Soviet victory
over Nazi Germany was marked across the country without the bloodshed of
previous years. A bombing in a Grozny stadium on May 9 last year killed the
Moscow-backed leader of Chechnya and six others, while a bombing on the same day
in 2002 in the neighbouring region of Dagestan killed 45 people.
Rebels have fought Russian rule for a decade, with attacks on Russian forces
a daily occurrence in Chechnya and often in neighbouring regions on Russia's
southern border. The war has killed thousands of Russian soldiers and tens of
thousands of Chechens.
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