対米全面テロ

By Lyoma Turpalov
Associated Press
Saturday, February 5, 2000; Page A13

ALKHAN-KALA, Russia, Feb. 4 末 Tears fell from the Chechen fighter's eyes as he recalled escaping from a Russian minefield by walking on the bodies of friends that had been torn apart by explosions.

His hands shaking with grief, Umar Tashayev was unable to talk, instead writing on a scrap of paper what happened when a rebel column blundered into the minefield as it tried to escape from Grozny on Monday after months of fighting in the Chechen capital.

"I saw dreadful things during fighting in Grozny, but that massacre was beyond comparison," he wrote. "We had to walk on our dead comrades" to avoid stepping on unexploded mines.

Khamzat Tisayev, who suffered a foot wound, said some rebels sacrificed themselves, running ahead to set off mines and clear a path for about 2,000 of their comrades who were fleeing behind them. "The boys marched on mines and shouted to us: 'Meet you in paradise!' "

Tashayev and other rebels who survived were still trembling with shock as they recalled the carnage, which left at least 600 rebels, including several prominent warlords, dead or badly wounded. It was the biggest loss for the rebels since Russian forces moved into Chechnya in late September.

Despite the losses, the rebel escape was a setback for the Russians, who had based their strategy on wiping out the insurgents in Grozny, seizing the city and declaring victory in the war. The Chechens who escaped are determined to continue fighting.

Aslambek Ismailov, the rebel commander in charge in Grozny, along with commanders Shamil Basayev, Lecha Dudayev, Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov and other prominent leaders, decided to lead a column out of the city to encourage their men, despite the failure of an earlier reconnaissance party to return.

Lyoma Dadayev, a survivor, said Basayev turned to his men and said: "Women often tell us: 'You let our sons be killed while you stay alive.' Well, we shall go first."

Ismailov, Dudayev and Israpilov died in the first explosions, and Basayev was badly wounded. Khasan Baiyev, chief of Alkhan-Kala's hospital, said Basayev lost his left leg and right foot.

After the first mines exploded, Russian artillery shells and rockets screamed into the rebel column, killing scores of fighters. The rebels continued moving despite the explosions, leaving their dead and wounded behind. Many of them shudder at the memory.

"I was pulling my comrade on a sledge, and then was hit in my leg by a fragment," Dadayev said. "I had to leave him behind."

"Our wounded comrades were pleading not to leave them there, but we had to keep going," wrote Tashayev, the rebel who could not speak.

When the rebels finally reached Alkhan-Kala, the hospital proved to be too small and ill-equipped to handle all of the casualties.

Baiyev, the hospital chief, performed dozens of amputations with a hacksaw without any painkillers or antiseptics.

Villagers took in the wounded. In one house, the smell of rotting flesh filled a room where two rebels lay, their feet amputated.

"These people don't know that they have gangrene and are doomed," Malika Sabiyeva, a doctor, whispered, turning away from the men. "We don't know what to do. We have nothing to help them."

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