Atagi residents deny fighting has broken out
Timur Aliyev, North Caucasus – The people of Starye and Novye Atagi deny the claims that fighting had taken place in their villages. Russia's Regional Operational Staff (ROSh) announced earlier that a group of rebels had been killed in the area.
According to ROSh spokesman Ilya Shabalkin, a group of about 15 rebels were discovered by federal forces resulting in an attack that left five of them dead.
However, several people from these villages told our Prague Watchdog correspondent they had not heard “any shooting, shelling, or even mortar fire as reported in the news.”
The Russian human rights organization Memorial was also unable to confirm that any fighting had broken out around the villages. Memorial’s Natalya Estemirova said that “according to our information, there was no fighting”.
The Chechen political observer Murad Magomadov said information about this outbreak was now very significant as the guerrillas had announced a ceasefire. “By giving out information about ongoing fighting in the republic, federal forces wish to prove there was no ceasefire and that the word of the guerrillas could not be trusted.”
(MG/E,T) RELATED ARTICLES:
· Guerrillas observe temporary ceasefire (PW, 7.2.2005)
· Moscow denounces Maskhadov's ceasefire order (PW, 3.2.2005)
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