September 28, 1999
Web posted at: 8:55 p.m. EDT (0055 GMT)

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From Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty

MOSCOW (CNN) -- At Moscow's downtown market, Dorogomilovsky, you can find almost anything -- meat, fruits, vegetables -- and maybe, police said, the terrorists responsible for the bombings across Moscow.

For the past two weeks, officers invaded the city's open-air markets, where many of the stalls are owned by people from the Caucasus region in southern Russia.

Police rounded up people living in the capital illegally. Moscow requires residents to register with authorities, but many don't bother.

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After the bombings began, the mayor ordered re-registration within three days.

Those who didn't comply faced deportation from Moscow. Almost 500 have been expelled so far.

The cells at the 76th police precinct were jammed. Legally, detainees can be held for three hours.

"I have a permit in my passport, a Moscow permit. Why are you holding me here?" asked one man.

Police carried out random checks on Moscow streets and in private apartments.

Human rights groups said the roundups have netted some 20,000 people. Police did not dispute the numbers.

Some people did not wait for authorities to knock on their doors. They left Moscow on their own, fearful of inevitable expulsion.

At Kursky Station, the train to Baku, Azerbaijan, was almost sold out. Until two weeks ago, most trains departed half empty.

"If they catch you, to hell with you," said one man. "You've got a face from the Caucasus. There's fighting in Chechnya, and we're suffering for it. What do we have to do with that? We're from Azerbaijan."

"When that building was blown up, the police grabbed me and took me to the station for four hours," said another man. "They said, 'You did it.' I said, 'My family lives here. I have an apartment. How could I possibly blow up the neighboring building?' Know what they did? They released me, then beat me up."

Human rights groups accused Moscow city police of targeting all people from the Caucasus region -- "blacks," as many Russians call them.

Russians believe Chechnya provided safe haven for Islamic rebels who have invaded the southern region of Dagestan. Moscow accused the rebels of triggering the recent series of bomb blasts.

Russia made it clear Tuesday that its air strikes against Chechnya will continue. Jets attacked targets in or near the capital, Grozny, for the sixth consecutive day. The declared objective was to crush the Islamic militants that Moscow said were waging a terrorist campaign from bases in Chechnya.

As many as 50,000 Russian troops have been deployed along the border with Chechnya. While Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly ruled out a large scale invasion, some analysts believe the deployment of ground troops -- in some form -- is imminent.

U.S. urges dialogue

The United States said Tuesday that it opposed the escalation of the conflict in Chechnya and favored dialogue between Moscow and the breakaway region.

State Department spokesman James Foley said, "The latest escalation of fighting in Chechnya is a negative development. Any resumption of general hostilities would further threaten stability in the entire north Caucasus region."

Foley noted that both Putin and Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov had told the media that the Chechens and Moscow were open to dialogue.

"We have been urging such a dialogue, but in our view, an escalating military confrontation makes such a dialogue far more difficult," Foley said.

He said the U.S. opposes exploitation of the conflict inside Russia "to create a backlash against people from the Caucasus."

Poll finds support for deporting Chechens

"Operation Whirlwind" was launched after three Russian cities were rocked by bombs, killing nearly 300 people. Russian authorities detained 101 suspects, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo said Tuesday.

Alexander Petrov, of Human Rights Watch, categorized the police effort as a " ... campaign of harassment, not a campaign to find criminals, to find people who organized and executed those terrorist acts in Moscow, but this is just a campaign of terror."

Activists said the roundups violated the Russian constitution, but the crackdown appeared to be popular with the public.

A national poll taken shortly after two deadly bombs went off in Moscow apartment buildings showed that 64 percent of Russians agreed that all Chechens should be deported from Russia to prevent terrorist acts.

"Look at this market," a retiree said. "There's nothing but blacks! Nothing but people from the Caucasus! No Russians. When is this going to end?"

After a policeman was shot to death as he walked his beat, police said people from the Caucasus region may be striking back. The police promised a swift and tough response.

Correspondent Mike Hanna and Reuters contributed to this report.

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