20:50, 15 December 2003

Separatists who captured Shauri village divided into groups

Chechen separatists who captured a hospital in the village of Shauri in the Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan have divided into three or four groups, which are moving away in the direction of Chechnya and Georgia.

The separatists are holding four hostages, reported a source at the Tsuntinsky district administration.

Air forces are in use to liquidate the groups. About 300 OMON (militia platoon for special purposes) fighters and police officers are in pursuit of them by land.

To remind, today, at about 3:00 a.m. a group of 50 Chechen separatists burst through the Russian-Georgian border into Dagestan. Russian frontier guards who followed them were ambushed and shot down. 9 frontier guards were killed and 10 more got wounds as a result. Then the separatists entered the village of Shauri, where they occupied the local hospital. At about 9:00 a.m., they left the village, taking several hostages.

Editors note: See also the article "50 rebels burst through into Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan".

Source: RosBusinessConsulting News Agency