CENTRIFUGAL FORCES:

Six persons were killed and 15 wounded in political strife in provincial Chechnya. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov has ordered the arrest of Salman Raduev, a commander in the war with Russia who has never really disbanded his troops or submitted to government discipline. Raduev seeks complete autonomy for Chechnya plus unification with neighboring Dagestan, which is part of the Russian Federation. Wrote one journalist: “Chechnya is gradually moving toward a state of chaos, with consequences that may be catastrophic, not just for the North Caucasus, but for the country as a whole.”