Shelling Injures 5 Chechen Villagers
ROSTOV-ON-DON -- Mortar shells hit a village in Chechnya on Wednesday, injuring five civilians and prompting military prosecutors to open an investigation following suspicions that the shells were fired by federal forces.
Roman Shchekotin, spokesman for the Interior Ministry branch in southern Russia, said the regional military prosecutor`s office had begun a probe into the shelling in the village of Stariye Atagi, south of Grozny. He said it was unclear whether the shells were fired by the military or by militants.
Quoting local officials, Itar-Tass reported that the early morning shelling damaged six houses and injured five members of a single family -- an elderly couple, their two daughters-in-law and their 7-year-old granddaughter. Interfax said two were in serious condition.
The military commander for the Grozny district, Colonel Anatoly Guskov, called the shelling an accident -- apparently indicating the mortar fire was believed to have come from federal forces, Interfax reported.
Tens of thousands of federal troops are based in Chechnya, fighting in the Kremlin`s second war against rebels in a decade.
Also Wednesday, a spokesman for Dmitry Kozak, President Vladimir Putin`s envoy to the Southern Federal District, which includes Chechnya, said Russia was not considering building a security barrier in Chechnya or anywhere else on its territory.
With Kozak in Israel to study counterterrorism methods, The Jerusalem Post daily reported Tuesday that Israel was advising Russia on how to build a separation barrier like the one Israel is erecting in the West Bank.
"In no circumstances will Russia erect a so-called security barrier around its constituent territory following the example of Israel," Kozak spokesman Fyodor Shcherbakov said, Itar-Tass reported.
AP
|
