CHECHNYA: MARTAN-CHU: ALLEGED RUSSIAN ATROCITIES

(19 Feb 2000) Russian/Eng/Nat More allegations of atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Chechnya emerged on Saturday from the village of Martan-Chu in the south of the republic. It is alleged that a Chechen woman and an ethnic Russian man were gunned down by soldiers. The Russian commandant of the village has said the detachments which were redeployed from Grozny to Martan-Chu are destroying good relations built up between his men and the local Chechen population. The latest flashpoint came four days ago when a Russian APC drove up to the house of local resident Khasanbek Atayev. He says the A-P-C opened fire on his house, killing his worker and his sister. The top Russian military commander in Chechnya, Colonel General Viktor Kazantsev has announced that a commission will be sent to Martan Chu to investigate the incident. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) “Grisha, Grisha (male name)“ and she was shot ( pointing with his hands) over