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Chechens âseize second villageâ
EFL:Chechen fighters are reported to have taken at least eight hostages, a day after seizing at least four captives. The rebels attacked the village of Galatli in the Russian republic of Dagestan overnight, officials say. Viktor Tsitsvera, a local security official, told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass the village had been surrounded by border guards and police. Unlike Saudi, when the Russians surround you, you donât get away. Of course, the villagers are also at risk. Military analysts have suggested the fighters got lost in the mountains while en route to - or from - Georgia. "I knew we should have taken a left turn in Albuquerque" Some reports suggest there are now as many as three bands of fighters in the area - perhaps because one large original group split up. One Russian news agency quoted a freed hostage as saying they included Arab fighters as well as Chechens and Avars - another local ethnic group. The Arabs would be the fearless leaders, theyâll leave the Chechens and Avars to fight a holding action while they beat feet. A state of emergency has been declared in the Tsuntinsky district of the remote, mountainous republic, which fighters crossed into on Monday. They took at least four hostages in the village of Shauri after a gunfight at the frontier which left nine Russian border guards dead, local authorities said. Security forces have blocked roads into the village from Dagestan, Chechnya and neighbouring Georgia. Posted by: Steve 2003-12-16 |
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