Russian forces pounded positions held by apparent Islamic militants in Dagestan yesterday amid efforts led by the Prime Minister, Mr Sergei Stepashin, to find a way to end the latest crisis in the troubled North Caucasus region.
A Russian government spokes man, Mr Alexander Mikhailov, said "necessary work is continuing, including the use of artillery and missile strikes against the groups of bandits".
Russian troops yesterday launched a second day of bombing raids on the positions, where several hundred gunmen were said to have surrounded four villages in Dagestan after crossing into the mountainous republic from rebel Chechnya. Chechen officials have denied that any armed groups had crossed their border into Dagestan, and one official said Russia risked sparking another war in the region.
Mr Stepashin, who broke off a tour of Russia's regions to fly to the area, held talks with the Interior Minister, Mr Vladimir Rushailo, local and other officials to discuss further action following an assault on the gunmen on Saturday. The armed forces chief of staff, Gen Anatoly Kvashnin, and the commander of interior troops, Gen Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, took part in the talks, aimed at finding a way to bring under control one of the most serious incidents in the region since the 19941996 Chechen war.
Mr Stepashin, on arriving in Dagestan, said "peaceful people should not suffer" from any military action. He also said he did not want a repeat of the war in Chechnya, when Russian troops fought and lost against mostly Muslim rebels. "The situation has become more complicated," Mr Stepashin said earlier, explaining why he decided to change his plans.
Russian helicopter gunships bombed the mountain hideouts on Saturday. The weekend incidents followed two weeks of clashes between police and Islamic militants in Dagestan. On Friday, Russian news agencies quoted security sources as saying the followers of an austere brand of Islam were plotting to make Dagestan an independent Islamic state.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen yesterday killed two servicemen and kidnapped three in an attack on a military training centre in Russia's troubled Caucasus region of North Ossetia, Itar-Tass news agency said.
Tass quoted local police as saying the training ground in Prigorondny district, a source of bitter territorial dispute between North Ossetia and neighbouring region of Ingushetia, belonged to the Interior Ministry troops.