RUSSIA: DAGESTAN: RUSSIAN TROOPS ENCIRCLE CHECHEN REBELS

Russian/Nat Russian forces tightened a ring of steel around Chechen fighters who are holding more than 100 hostages in the village of Pervomayskaya. The hostage drama entered its fourth day as Russian troops and local police began evacuating the civilian population. The latest Chechen hostage crisis has already cost 40 lives and the local population is living in fear. Roads around the village of Pervomayskaya are filled with pathetic caravans as civilians flee the area. A heavy military pres