Russia, 16 August 1999 (RFE/RL) - A state-of-emergency in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya went into effect today as
fighting between Russian forces and Islamist insurgents continued in
Dagestan. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov's month-long declaration of an emergency includes measures to boost security along the border between Chechnya and Dagestan. The decree also suspends broadcast licenses for independent radio and includes a night-time curfew. In Moscow, Russian acting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin distanced himself from Maskhadov's declaration, saying he sees no need for a state-of-emergency on Russian territory.
Putin also accused Chechnya, which considers itself independent of Moscow, of allowing what he called "gangs of international terrorists" to cross into Dagestan.