MOSCOW, January 22 (AVN) - Airborne formations and the units that are not organic to the North Caucasus military district will be the first to be withdrawl from Chechnya, Lieutenant-General Yuri Baluevsky, first deputy chief-of-staff and head of the General Staff main operations department, said on Monday.
After the withdrawal, the units and formations will return to their permanent stationing areas, Baluevsky told a news conference at the Interfax news agency headquarters.
The General Staff is elaborating a specific withdrawal plan that will be made public after its approval, Baluevsky said.
According to him, about 1,000 rebels still fight against federal forces. Guerrillas generally operate in small mobile groups in the mountainous districts of the republic as well as in its villages. "There are no more organised activities from their side, only single rebels are operating and attempting to get legal IDs in localities," Baluevsky added.
The general confirmed that one of the most important tasks to be tackled by the new leadership of the Chechnya campaign is seizure and liquidation of leading warlords.