Renewed Chechen war seen as part of an anti-Lebed agenda

THE CHECHEN war, Which smouldered during the presidential election campaign, has burst into flames with full-scale artillery bombardments and air strikes in south-east Chechnya.

Analysts in Moscow fear the resumption of hostilities are part of moves to undermine President Yeltsin's new security chief, Gen Alexander Lebed.

The situation in Chechnya became tense on Sunday when Russian troops failed to meet the deadline, set in ceasefire agreements, for removing checkpoints. Russian forces on the ground said they kept the checkpoints in place because Chechens were breaking the ceasefire.

On Monday the local Russian commander, Gen Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, denied reports that he had been fired and immediately gave the Chechens an ultimatum to hand over prisoners of war or face unspecified consequences. Later in the day three officials of the pro-Moscow Chechen government were found murdered in a Grozny apartment having, according to the Interior Ministry, been tortured.

Gen Tikhomirov yesterday decreed a curfew throughout Chechnya and a fierce battle began in the town of Gekhi in the south of the region. Later in the day, reports came through of major military actions elsewhere. Casualty reports were sketchy but it is understood that more than 20 people, including three Russian soldiers, had lost their lives in the early fighting in the Gekhi area. Chechen rebels said they would kill prisoners of war if the fighting continued.

Gen Lebed, who came under fire on the economic front from sources close to the Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, yesterday, had earlier, in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Republica, said he was prepared to consider Chechen independence as an option leading to the end of the war but yesterday's events have overtaken his plans and Moscow sources say that the renewed fighting may be designed to isolate him within the shadowy Kremlin power structure.

President Yeltsin was reported to have discussed the Chechen situation with aides yesterday but he has still not been seen in public since June 26th.

At a Moscow press conference yesterday, the government's leading economic adviser, Mr Alexander Livshits, said that Gen Lebed would have no input in economic matters after the country's new government was appointed. Gen Lebed had called for economic powers in order to help the fight against Russia's massive corruption problem.

Gen Nikolai Kovalyov, a career member of the KGB secret police in the Soviet era, was yesterday appointed as head of the Russian security services to replace Gen Mikhail Barsukov who had lost his job in the purge of senior officers led by Gen Lebed between the first and second rounds of the presidential elections. Gen Kovalyov had been Gen Barsukov's deputy.

In the meantime the battle for the position of defence minister was being waged amidst allegations of massive military corruption including the misappropriation of funds from the sale of munitions and the placement of millions of dollars which later went missing, by leading generals into foreign bank accounts.

Among those accused of corruption have been the sacked defence minister, Gen Pavel Grachev, and the chief inspector of the Defence Ministry, Gen Konstantin Kobets who was believed to have been on Gen Lebed's shortlist to replace Gen Grachev.

The key ministry is now likely to go to Gen Igor Rodionov who in 1989 was in charge of troops involved in the gnashing of an anti-soviet riot in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in which a number of civilians were killed.