U.S. rebukes Moscow over Chechnya

WASHINGTON -- The United States has criticised Russia's campaign in Chechnya, accusing Moscow of using "overwhelming force" in its battle with Muslim rebels there.

The move comes in the wake of the deaths of 92 rebels in one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the secessionist province for a year.

The chief Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said the casualties were inflicted in a host of settlements in and around the city of Argun, southeast of the Chechen capital Grozny, and that five Russian servicemen were killed and 24 others wounded.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "The latest information on Russian operations in Chechnya indicates a continuation of human rights violations and the use of overwhelming force against civilian targets."

He added: "It is clear that there are terrorist factions in Chechnya with ties to al Qaeda and international terrorism networks, and as part of the war on terrorism we're cooperating with the Russians on cutting off those kinds of ties.

"Unfortunately, the Russians have not pursued the initial and encouraging contacts with Chechen separatists."

Putin support

Boucher's words were a rude awakening after months of muted Western comments on Chechnya since the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S.

He said Washington would continue to urge both sides to pursue political negotiations, adding that the lack of a solution and "the number of credible reports of massive human rights violations, we believe, contribute to an environment that's favourable toward terrorism."

Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to offer his support to the U.S. after hijackers flew airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.

He followed up the call with a speech that for the first time drew a distinction between "terrorists" and independence-minded Chechens and opened the door to negotiations that have made no progress.

Washington has tried to encourage Moscow to seek a political solution to the conflict and to investigate widespread allegations of atrocities by its forces.

Meanwhile, the security cordon imposed around Argun remains in place.

Russian officials appointed a new military commander for the city, saying the previous one, Col. Nikolai Sidorenko, could face criminal charges for allowing rebels to infiltrate.

"Through the military commander's negligence, rebels entered Argun and provoked federal troops into launching a vigorous special operation in which civilians suffered," the commander of the North Caucasian military district, Col. Gen. Gennady Troshev, according to Interfax.