MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov said on Friday that he plans to expand attacks against Russia, his first public statement since taking over as chief of the Chechen separatists.
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In a statement dated June 23 and posted on a rebel Web site, www.daymohk.org, Umarov said the rebels would concentrate on military installations and avoid most civilians.
"We intend to complete preparations this summer for a significant widening of the area of military actions, to include not only the Caucasus but many regions of Russia," Umarov said in the statement.
"But I announce with due authority that the targets of our blows and attacks will be exclusively military and police installations."
Umarov took over as head of the Chechen resistance after Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev was killed on June 17 in a battle with Russian troops, the statement said.
Russia's Federal Security Service could not be reached for comment late on Friday.
Russia has been fighting Chechen rebels for more than a decade but attacks on Russian troops are common, though the Chechen rebel movement has fragmented under unceasing pressure from Russian forces.
The Kremlin says it is fighting Islamic militants who are seeking to destabilize the whole region and establish a religious state. Chechen rebels say they want to drive the Russian Empire from their land.
Any talk of escalating the conflict is closely watched after bloody assaults on civilians such as the 2004 Beslan school siege.
While Umarov said he would attack only military and police installations, he said some civilian objects could be hit if they were being used to carry out operations against rebels.
"I, like my predecessors as president, will decisively stop all hits against civilian objects and people, with the exclusion of those people and structures which carry out against us subversive and intelligence operations under the cover of civilian status," Umarov said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060623...pxE1fEArQxvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-
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In a statement dated June 23 and posted on a rebel Web site, www.daymohk.org, Umarov said the rebels would concentrate on military installations and avoid most civilians.
"We intend to complete preparations this summer for a significant widening of the area of military actions, to include not only the Caucasus but many regions of Russia," Umarov said in the statement.
"But I announce with due authority that the targets of our blows and attacks will be exclusively military and police installations."
Umarov took over as head of the Chechen resistance after Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev was killed on June 17 in a battle with Russian troops, the statement said.
Russia's Federal Security Service could not be reached for comment late on Friday.
Russia has been fighting Chechen rebels for more than a decade but attacks on Russian troops are common, though the Chechen rebel movement has fragmented under unceasing pressure from Russian forces.
The Kremlin says it is fighting Islamic militants who are seeking to destabilize the whole region and establish a religious state. Chechen rebels say they want to drive the Russian Empire from their land.
Any talk of escalating the conflict is closely watched after bloody assaults on civilians such as the 2004 Beslan school siege.
While Umarov said he would attack only military and police installations, he said some civilian objects could be hit if they were being used to carry out operations against rebels.
"I, like my predecessors as president, will decisively stop all hits against civilian objects and people, with the exclusion of those people and structures which carry out against us subversive and intelligence operations under the cover of civilian status," Umarov said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060623...pxE1fEArQxvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-
