Chechnya - DHA: 1-31.Dec.96

UNITED NATIONS INTER-AGENCY HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMME FOR PERSONS
DISPLACED AS A RESULT OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION IN CHECHNYA,
  RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SITUATION REPORT OF THE DHA COORDINATOR
Based on Field Reports: 1 - 31 December 1996


I. GENERAL

Political
Preparations for elections in Chechnya, scheduled to be
held on 27 January 1997, are going forward. The problem of
voting by displaced persons outside Chechnya has not yet
been settled.

The central electoral commission in Chechnya has received
19 applications from presidential candidates. The five
principal candidates are president of the Chechen coalition
government Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, prime minister Aslan
Maskhadov, field commander Shamil Basayev, information
minister Movladi Udugov and security official Akhmed
Zakayev. These candidates are reported to have agreed to
campaign in such a way that there will not be any
leadership split, and to work with each other regardless of
which one wins the election.

On 14 December 1996 about 40 heavily armed Chechen fighters
tried to cross the Chechen-Daghestani border in order to
accompany a Chechen delegation which included their leader,
Salman Raduyev. They were stopped by border guards, who
were then disarmed and captured by Raduyev forces. Later,
six Daghestani guards were released, but 22 Federal
Interior Ministry special forces troops were seized. They
were released on 18 December after negotiations between
Salman Raduyev and federal deputy Security Council
Secretary Boris Berezovsky.

On the first day of this incident, four UNHCR staff and a
number of MSF-Belgium workers were also detained by the
Raduyev forces for a number of hours.

On 17 December six international ICRC workers were killed
by masked gunmen while sleeping in a hospital residence in
the Chechen town of Novye Atagi. ICRC immediately suspended
its programme in Chechnya and evacuated 35 workers.

UN Agencies and UN implementing partners in the North
Caucasus were instructed to suspend all activity and
presence in Chechnya, to with draw international staff from
Khasavyurt (Daghestan) and surrounding area, to suspend
programme activity in that part of Daghestan and to
increase security precautions in Ingushetia and North
Ossetia.

Federal and Chechen authorities strongly condemned the
killing of the ICRC workers. On 20 December, Chechen
security officials detained several suspects who were later
released. At the end of December, other suspects were
arrested.

On 23 December there were two shooting incidents at check-
points in North Ossetia. In one, seven Chechens were killed
and three policemen wounded, in the other, one person was
killed and a number wounded. UN staff in Ingushetia and
North Ossetia were given additional instruction, to
minimize travel and to move only in daylight.

On 29 December the last combat units of federal forces
began to leave Chechnya. The movement is expected to be
completed by 5 January.

According to a statement by Russian Security Council
Secretary Ivan Rybkin, the joint Chechen and Russian local
security forces currently operating in Chechnya will be
transformed into police forces.

Delivery Of Humanitarian Assistance
As a result of the situation described above, WFP suspended
food distributions. UNHCR is continuing its activities in
those areas not covered by the security restrictions.


II.  DHA ACTIVITIES
On 11 December DHA Moscow briefed donors and NGOs on the
results of the Mid-Term Review and on the 1997 Inter-Agency
Appeal which, at that moment, was ready for publication.

On 13 December in Geneva, DHA participated in a meeting
convened by the Russian Mission in Geneva in order to
inform the Russian Special Coordinator for humanitarian
assistance in Chechnya, Mr. Boris Kolokolov, on the future
plans of international organisations for humanitarian
activities in Chechnya, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, ICRC and DHA
outlined their plans for 1997.

Following the killing of the ICRC workers, and after
consultation with the UN Agencies concerned, DHA decided to
hold back the 1997 Inter-Agency Appeal for the return and
integration of displaced persons from Chechnya.

On 26 December the head of the ICRC delegation gave a
briefing in Moscow for DHA and NGOs, in course of which it
was stated:

(a) The murders of ICRC staff were carried out in a
cold-blooded and methodical manner by professional killers
who were obviously familiar with the layout of the
buildings.

(b) The attack clearly targeted ICRC expatriate staff.

(c) If the guard on duty in the hospital had not fired
his weapon, the death toll would certainly have been
higher.

(d) Robbery was not the aim of the attack.
ICRC indicated that the investigation was continuing and
that it was essential to reach some conclusion on who the
perpetrators were.


III.  OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Security
In addition to the major incidents reported above, it
should be noted that new hostages were taken on 16 December
when a three-man delegation of North Ossetian government
officials disappeared on its way to Grozny. The hostage
takers demanded ransom and, according to press reports,
some USD 200,000 was paid to secure the release of two
hostages. The third official is still detained.

On 18 December six elderly Russians were killed in Grozny,
while on 19 December four more Russian residents were
killed there.

On 22 December what was reported to be a deliberate
explosion of a land mine in a Chechen village killed five
boys.

At the end of the month a new well-fortified check-point
was established between Vladikavkaz and Chermen to control
movement in the Prigorodny district of North Ossetia.


United Nations Office in the Russian Federation - Moscow
Mr. Christopher Carpenter
Tel.: (7 095) 284.3220 - 973.1893
Fax: (7 095) 973.1960

Complex Emergency Division (CED) - New York
Mr. Bradley Foerster
Tel.: (1 212) 963.1834
Fax: (1 212) 963.3630
E-Mail: dhagva@dha.unicc.org

Inter-agency Support Branch (IASB) - Geneva
Mr. Arjun Katoch
Tel.: (41 22) 788.6381
Fax: (41 22) 788.6386
E-Mail : Arjun.Katoch@dha.unicc.org

Press to contact (DHA-Geneva)
Ms. Madeleine Moulin-Acevedo
Tel.: (41 22) 917.2856
Fax: (41 22) 917.0023
Telex: 414242 DHA CH
E-Mail: dhagva@dha.unicc.org