Russian Troops Take Chechen Stronghold

Russian troops seized a rebel stronghold in southeast Chechnya, killing at least 16 Chechens on the first anniversary of the military campaign against the breakaway republic, the military said Tuesday.

Russians captured the base Monday near Alleroi, a village 24 miles southeast of Grozny, the Chechen capital, after Chechen gunmen attacked a nearby Russian post, the military told the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies.

Other clashes in and around Grozny overnight Monday killed another 11 Chechens and wounded 14 Russians, the military told ITAR-Tass.

About 40,000 Russian troops poured into Chechnya on Dec. 11, 1994, to put down a separatist drive and unseat Dzhokhar Dudayev, who declared Chechnya independent after his 1991 election as president.

The fighting has killed thousands in the worst bloodshed on Russian soil since World War II. Tension has mounted recently with the approach of elections Sunday, called by Chechnya’s Russian-installed government.

Dudayev marked the anniversary Monday by promising the fighting will continue.

“We’re building up our forces, and Russia is also building up forces,” Dudayev told Voice of America radio.