Moscow Will Withdraw Troops From Chechnya

A Russian commander said Tuesday that Moscow could start withdrawing troops from Chechnya within 10 days, but fighting that killed two Russian soldiers overnight overshadowed the move toward peace.

Col. Gen. Yevgeny Podkolzin, commander-in-chief of airborne troops, said his forces would be among the first to leave Chechnya.

“I believe the withdrawal will begin in a week, or a week and a half,” he said.

The withdrawal is part of a ceasefire agreement with secessionist rebels signed Sunday after weeks of negotiation. Both sides have hailed the treaty as an important step toward ending the nearly 8-month-old war.

But shooting continued in Chechnya overnight, with two Russian soldiers killed and five others wounded, the Interfax news agency said.

“A bad peace is better than the war that took place in Chechnya,” said Podkolzin, who has quietly criticized the government’s handling of the conflict.

The Chechen military commanderin-chief, Gen. Aslan Maskhadov, was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as ordering rebel fighters to halt military action as of midnight Tuesday.

Russian television reported that an exchange of prisoners was expected to begin within several days, as well as an exchange of maps showing the location of mines strewn across the republic.

Maskhadov proposed that each fighter handing in weapons as part of the Chechens’ agreement to disarm should be paid $30 to $60 compensation.