- Title: RUSSIA: RUSSIAN FORCES CONTINUE TO SHELL REBEL POSITIONS
- Date: 22nd May 1995
- Summary: DUBA-YURT, CHECHNYA, RUSSIA (MAY 22, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV DAMAGED BUILDINGS / FIRE RISING IN BACKGROUND 0.13 2. SV PEOPLE LEAVING / MAN IN CAR SHOWING DOCUMENTS/ CAR BEING INSPECTED BY ARMED MAN. 0.30 3. SV DAMAGED BUILDINGS 0.39 4. SV UNDERGROUND SHELTERS 0.45 5. SV SLEEPING CHILDREN / WOMAN 1.20 6. SCU TOWN ELDER SAID-EMI ZUBAIRAYEV SAYING IF THEY ARE GOING TO KILL US, THEY SHOULD DO IT AT ONCE AND NOT MAKE US SUFFER. THEY SAID THAT IF WE ESTABLISH OUR CHECK-POINTS AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO REBELS IN THE TOWN, THEY WOULD NOT BOMB THE VILLAGE. WE FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS BUT THEY BOMB US ANYWAY. (RUSSIAN) 1.42 7. SV ROAD BLOCKS (AUDIO OF BOMBING IN BACKGROUND) 1.49 8. SCU PEOPLE SHOWING NAILS FROM BOMBS DROPPED BY THE RUSSIANS IN EARLIER ATTACKS 1.55 9. SV TRUCKS LOADED WITH PEOPLE AND BELONGINGS LEAVING TOWN 2.22 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 6th June 1995 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DUBA-YURT, CHECHNYA, RUSSIA
- City:
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVA2YSXON9H6TFOILTPTFEYHPOT7
- Story Text: Russian forces shelled suspected rebel positions in the foothills of southern Chechnya on Monday (May 22) and separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev was reported to have accepted an invitation to peace talks.
Yet there were no signs of a break in hostilities in the southern, mostly Moslem region on Monday.
A series of loud artillery blasts in the heavily-wooded foothills shook the small town of Duba-Yurt, some 35 km (22 miles) south of the shattered capital Grozny.
Russian forces, slowly pushing their way south towards Chechnya's southern mountains where rebel groups are based, were not hesitating to attack suspicious targets.
A helicopter gunship flew very low over Duba-Yurt, deserted by most of its 5,000 population, and soon afterwards an explosion was heard from the hills.
Russian troops are slowly pushing their way south towards Chechnya's southern mountains where rebel groups are based, but there was no sign yet of Kremlin forces in Duba-Yurt.
But villagers showed what they said were nails from bombs dropped by the Russians in earlier attacks on the town.
About 300 people are leaving in the underground shelters.
"If they are going to kill us, they should do it at once and not make us suffer," said town elder Said-emi Zubarayev. "They said that if we establish our check-points and make sure there are no rebels in the town, they wouldn't bomb the village. We followed the instructions but they bomb us anyway".
An official from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Dudayev and Russian authorities had agreed to direct peace talks under OSCE auspices in Grozny.
Itar-Tass news agency quoted the head of the Russian administration in Chechnya, Nikolai Semyonov, as saying that the OSCE had proposed that the warring parties stop all combat activities by midnight on Thursday (2000 GMT).
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