ALMATY, Dec 6
(THE GLOBE)
An earthquake of Richter scale magnitude 3.5 struck Almaty at 1:33 pm on December 6. The epicenter was near the town of Rybachye, Kyrgyzstan, at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul. No deaths or property damage was reported.
According to deputy director of the Kazakhstan Seismology Institute Askar B. Ospanov, �this earthquake was not destructive. In other words, it is classified as �moderate�. As a rule, such an earthquake is not dangerous, and after it there are no victims and ruins.� At the epicenter, 110 kilometers southwest of Almaty, the magnitude measured between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale.
�According to our long-tern prognosis, no serious earthquakes are expected soon, at least not before the end of this year,� Ospanov explained. �However, similar earthquakes may happen again. This is the ordinary seismic life of our region. We predict �moderate� earthquakes. They are not dangerous at all.�
When asked if the Almaty population could sleep quietly, Ospanov replied, �Certainly. Sleep quietly.�
MOSCOW, Dec 6 (AFP)
Russia�s military command delivered an ultimatum to Chechnya on Monday, threatening to destroy all those in the capital Grozny who failed to surrender by December 11.
�This is addressed to those who are defending Grozny, who have not yet lost their reason, those who are still able to look at things reasonably,� an NTV television correspondent read from a copy of an official statement being dropped by Russian warplanes on the capital.
�You lost. You have no chance to win,� the statement said.
�The Russian command is giving you a last chance. Until December 11, a corridor will remain open in the settlement of Pervomayskaya.
�Those who will leave Grozny by that point will be offered housing, food and medicine, and � most importantly � life.
�People who remain in Grozny will be viewed as terrorists ... and will be destroyed by artillery and aviation. There will be no more negotiations. All those who have not left the city will be destroyed. You have a choice � time is running out.�
The statement was signed by �the head of military command of the Russian forces,� NTV said.
The ultimatum � Russia�s first since troops invaded October 1 � was delivered amid reports that Chechens trying to flee the rebel capital remained trapped in the ruined and heavily bombed city.
An Interfax reporter in Grozny said most of the civilians there had no means of leaving the city, which according to Chechen sources was hit by 60 bombs in overnight Russian attacks.
Interfax cited Grozny Mayor Lecha Dudayev as saying that all transportation had been cut off as intense Russian artillery shelling continued.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch representative Marie Struthers cited people who had already fled as saying the capital had nearly run out of food, while some people had to walk several kilometers under heavy bombing to reach any potable water.
And NTV television showed footage of parts of Grozny in flames as oil storage tanks flared from direct Russian hits.
Chechen officials report that nearly 50,000 people are still in Grozny. However Russia denies that figure, with military commanders claiming it is nearly entirely occupied by separatist fighters.
Meanwhile, the city was fortified overnight by another 400 rebel fighters, the official Chechen Internet site said.
Federal forces have approached Grozny from all directions although heavy clashes took place for control of Urus-Martan to the southwest, one of the last two villages that leads out of the capital.
The AVN military news agency said Russia delivered 170 warplane sorties over Chechnya in the latest 24-hour span, concentrating on Grozny, Urus-Martan and Argun.
One Russian officer told NTV from Argun, the eastern village leading into Grozny, that nearly all Chechen fighters had fled that settlement for the mountains to the south.
The humanitarian situation in Chechnya was discussed Monday during a meeting between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian�s top military command.
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov has said that more than 4,500 civilians have been killed by bombs and artillery fire since Russia first launched an air assault on the republic on September 5.
Russian generals meanwhile reported that more than 4,000 Chechen �terrorists� have been destroyed since then.
Russia had thus far ruled out storming Grozny, fearing the heavy toll involved.
However, the Chechen information center Kavkaz.org reported that shootouts between Chechen and Russian troops flared on the outskirts of Grozny�s Zavodskoi region.
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