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TITLE: Chechen Rebels Deny Report of Attacking Aid Convoy |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: Agence France Presse |
DATE: March 8, 2001 |
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Four Russian soldiers were killed when Chechen separatist guerrillas attacked a military convoy, a rebel spokesman claimed Wednesday, denying earlier reports that the convoy carried humanitarian aid. Russian military officials in Grozny quoted by the Interfax news agency said earlier the attacked convoy belonged to a relief agency, and reported that the soldiers were merely wounded. Interfax news agency quoted the officials as saying the attack came as a radio-controlled mine exploded under the leading lorry in the convoy Tuesday, and the men were wounded in an exchange of fire that followed. The rebel spokesman confirmed most the details of the attack, saying though that the explosion killed all four passengers of the lorry. The agency did not specify which organization had sent the convoy into Chechnya, though the Russian emergency situations ministry said it was not one of theirs. Relief agencies in Moscow -- the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Program, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Action against Hunger and the Danish Refugee Council -- all told AFP that none of their convoys had come under attack. Several international relief organizations have resumed operations in Chechnya since the release early last month of an American hostage, Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) regional organizer Kenny Gluck, who was kidnapped on January 9 and released on February 4. Human rights groups have accused the Russian military of carrying out bogus attacks and issuing misinformation in order to discourage humanitarian operations in the breakaway republic. END |