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Russia Vows to Pursue Operation in Chechnya to End
Russia vowed Thursday to pursue the mopping-up operation in the volatile republic of Chechnya to an end and destroy all Chechen rebels refusing to lay down their weapons.
Russia's anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus "will be carried out to the end, and the hotbed of international terrorism will be wiped out. Normal, peaceful life for this part of the Russian population... will be restored," Col. Gen. Valery Manilov, deputy chief of Russia's general staff, told a news conference in Moscow Thursday, hours after President Vladimir Putin reprimanded officials for lax security in the war-torn region.
"There will be no parallels with the 1994-1996 Chechen war, there will be no repeat of that tragedy," Manilov said.
He noted that the most recent terrorist bomb attacks in a number of Chechen communities did not produce the results expected by their organizers.
The general said certain responsible individuals will be brought to court for not providing proper security, making the terrorist acts possible and leading to many deaths.
Putin had earlier made an unscheduled stop on his way back from a summit in Central Asia to hold late night talks Wednesday at a military base in Mozdok, just outside Chechnya.
The president issued televised warnings to contrite-looking officials and ministers who took turns to stand up as he spoke to them from behind a desk about the need to tighten security.
Manilov said there were fewer than 2,000 bandits remaining in parts of Chechnya's southern mountains not held by Moscow. They used nighttime attacks to give the appearance that they exist throughout the war-ravaged republic.
Meanwhile, security measures have been indefinitely tightened up in some key Chechen cities and districts, such as in Chechnya's temporary capital city of Gudermes, Argun and the district center of Shali, 40 kilometers south of Grozny, he said.
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