Russia Gives In To Rebels Chechens Start Freeing Hostages After Promise Of Cease-Fire, Safe Passage

Its military unable to roust Chechen rebels from a hospital packed with hostages, Russia agreed to halt combat operations in Chechnya and allow the gunmen safe passage home.

The rebels began releasing hostages in response but still held 1,500 early today.

A convoy of six buses and a truck pulled up in front of the hospital this morning.

But there was no immediate move by the gunmen to leave the building, and officials said rebel leader Shamil Basayev unexpectedly had demanded to meet journalists and Russian parliamentarians.

It was unclear whether the deal, reached Sunday, would lead to an end to the war in the breakaway republic. Russia didn’t agree to withdraw troops from Chechnya, and previous cease-fires have crumbled quickly.

Interior Ministry troops at the hospital said they had orders to escort the rebels in buses back to Chechnya, 90 miles to the south, after they had released their hostages.

The concessions were a major setback for Russia, which was criticized for its war in Chechnya by heads of state at this weekend’s Group of Seven economic summit in Canada.

The Chechen raid that led to the seizure of hostages also was an embarrassment for the government. Russian troops tried but failed to free the hostages in two attacks on the hospital Saturday that left dozens dead and injured.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin publicly promised the rebels safe passage to their homeland, new peace talks and an immediate cease-fire in Chechnya.

They promptly freed as many as 400 hostages, mostly women and children. Looking dazed and exhausted, the hostages emerged from the hospital in two groups and were taken in ambulances to nearby clinics.

The Russian military declared a cease-fire in Chechnya on Sunday night in accordance with the agreement. Several previous attempts at cease-fires since ground combat began Dec. 11 have collapsed quickly.

As the buses waited outside the hospital today, Basayev appeared to be disputing Russian conditions that none of the hostages accompany the Chechens on the trip to Chechnya.

The government said local officials and Russian lawmakers would go with the Chechens to ensure their safety, but the ITAR-Tass news agency reported that Basayev wanted more escorts, possibly including some hostages.

More than 100 people have been killed since the Chechens attacked the southern city of 100,000 people on Wednesday, the rebels’ first major attack outside Chechnya.

From his office in Moscow, Chernomyrdin called Basayev at the hospital and read a statement guaranteeing a halt to military activities in the breakaway republic.

The agreement also called for talks on a peaceful resolution to the war. A high-level government delegation led by Col. Gen. Anatoly Kulikov, commander of Interior Ministry troops, arrived Sunday night in the Chechen capital of Grozny. It was expected to begin talks today with a group headed by former Chechen Prosecutor General Usman Imayev at the mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Late Sunday night, Chernomyrdin urged Basayev to leave immediately with the entourage he had requested.

When Basayev said he preferred to wait until it was light, Chernomyrdin was quoted by ITAR-Tass as responding: “Leave whenever you wish, but let women and children, the sick and wounded go tonight.”

The rebel commander declined to free any more hostages immediately but told Chernomyrdin he would free them all this morning.

Crowds of relatives and friends stood on corners near the hospital Sunday looking for loved ones as the first captives left the building. Some cried; others shouted out relatives’ and friends’ names.

Basayev is a top commander for Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, who denies involvement with the raid. Russian officials say Dudayev has lost control of his fighters.

Chechen rebels long had threat ened to spread guerrilla war beyond their republic and have been driven from strongholds inside Chechnya during six months of battle.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed in the war in Chechnya. The war is unpopular in Russia, and President Boris Yeltsin has faced harsh criticism around the world for prosecuting it.