Russia Closes All Roads in Chechnya During Holiday PeriodAll roads in Russia's breakaway republic of Chechen will be closed from December 25, 2000, to January 10, 2001 due to frequent holiday attack threats from the rebels, the office of Chechen chief military commandant said Saturday."A curfew is ordered in most populated areas of Chechnya, under which no cars or people are permitted to move in the streets from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.," the office said. The Chechen warlords have threatened they will take violent actions to "mark the fifth anniversary of the 1995 storming of Grozny by the federal forces," the office said. "In any case, the republic's law enforcement agencies and military authorities will do everything possible to enable civilians to celebrate the New Year quietly and peacefully," it added. The Russian Interior Ministry's Chechen department said on the same day that security measures have been stepped up at federal checkpoints in Chechnya's mountainous regions and additional restrictions have been introduced to citizens and transportation vehicles. |
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