By empty (2/26/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

About 50 family members of Russian diplomats in Iraq, personnel of foreign representations, and specialists working in the country will shortly leave on a charter flight, a Russian Embassy official told Interfax on Wednesday. \"On the Foreign Ministry\'s recommendation, family members of the embassy and trade mission personnel and Russian specialists working in Iraq under contracts are being taken home in an organized manner for security reasons,\" the diplomat said. Last week, about 30 Russians left Iraq on a charter flight, and this process will continue, he said.

By empty (2/26/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Opening a command-and-staff exercise for border guards from Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, which began in Dagestan, Chairman of the Dagestani State Council Magomedali Magomedov said the three countries\' border guards had to establish closer co-operation in order to ensure stability and safety throughout the Caucasian region. The exercise consists of two parts: a map exercise meant to help drill co-operation between border guards in case international terrorist units cross the state borders, and a practical exercise involving a manoeuvre group of the Caspian Border Guards Detachment, which will display the fighting efficiency of the personnel and materiel. Results of the exercise will be summed up on Friday.

By empty (2/25/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A Kyrgyz man was killed when a land mine laid by the Uzbek military exploded in a disputed border zone, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. The 42-year-old man stepped on the mine, which was placed in the southern Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, more than 150 meters (490 feet) away from the Uzbek border, the ministry said. The mountainous territory, in an area where the borders of three former Soviet republics are tangled and poorly marked, is claimed by both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.