Russian Commander: Foreign Mercenaries Will Persevere With Armed Resistance In Afghanistan

The top brass of the Russian General Staff believe that foreign fighters in Afghanistan, including Chechen fighters, will persevere with armed resistance to the anti-terrorism coalition forces. The first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff Colonel-General Yury Baluyevsky said at a Friday briefing that "the purely military problem in Afghanistan has been solved in its essence." According to him, "the anti-terrorism coalition forces are controlling" 80-90 percent of Afghan territory, but a lot of questions remain to be solved. The military chief explained that Taliban extremist units had not taken part in direct combat against the anti-terrorism coalition forces and, as a result, their forces remained intact. "I'm sure, all foreign mercenaries in Afghanistan, including Chechen militants, will be fighting till the last man standing," Baluyevsky added. Baluyevsky refuted the reports by some media outlets alleging that two regiments of paratroopers of the Russian Air Borne Troops had been dispatched to Afghanistan.