Russian Officer Denies Bombings

Russia’s air force commander denied Wednesday that his warplanes bombed Chechen villages last week, blaming the extensive damage on “provocateurs” exploding land mines to discredit the Russians.

The alleged air raids in southwestern Chechnya came after President Boris Yeltsin announced a peace plan for the separatist republic on March 31 and said troops would cease major combat operations.

Chechnya’s Moscow-backed government condemned the bombings of the villages of Shalazhi and KatyrYurt, which had both signed peace accords with Moscow.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed and an unknown number of civilians were killed.