Moldovan separatists seize river port

CHISINAU, Apr 21 (Reuters) Soldiers from Moldova's separatist Dnestr region today seized a Moldovan river port and authorities in the ex-Soviet state complained that Russian troops supposed to prevent conflict did nothing to stop them.

Authorities in Dnestr, which proclaimed independence from Moldova 16 years ago, said the takeover of the small port of Varnita was linked purely to a dispute over property ownership.

But tension in the region -- site of one of the former Soviet Union's ''frozen conflicts'' -- has been heightened by a Western-backed attempt to stop smuggling through Dnestr which the rebel region says is tantamount to a blockade.

''Several dozen members of the Dnestr special forces forced their way into the territory of Varnita port and seized property,'' Moldovan state television reported.

Both sides said several small vessels were seized from the port and taken upriver to the town of Bendery inside Dnestr.

Dnestr officials said the boats had been in Varnita illegally and described the incident as ''purely an economic dispute between two owners''.

Dnestr soldiers remained in Varnita, located in a special security zone, along with Moldovan police and reports said minor scuffles had broken out. Russian troops, still stationed in Moldova despite Kremlin promises to leave, were also present.

RUSSIA Moldova's reintegration minister said the Russian forces -- described by Moscow as ''peacekeepers'' required to keep the two sides apart -- had done nothing to stop the incursion.

''The total inaction of the peacekeeping forces, which can be described as silent support for the actions of Dnestr forces, causes serious concern,'' Vasily Sova said. The incident, he said, was an attempt to boost tension before Orthodox Easter on Sunday.

Populated mainly by Slavs, Dnestr declared independence from Soviet Moldova in 1990 on the grounds that Moldova's ethnic Romanian majority might one day join Romania to the west.

That never occurred, but the two sides fought a brief war in 1992 halted by Russian troops, who still guard large stockpiles of ammunition.

Attempts at a settlement are deadlocked. Moldova's Communist President Vladimir Voronin has quarrelled with Moscow over the military presence and says he wants to join the European Union.

Landlocked and with no international recognition of its self-proclaimed independence, Dnestr objects to rules introduced last month with European Union support requiring goods bound for neighbouring Ukraine to bear a Moldovan customs stamp.

Moldova, along with Ukraine and Western countries, suspect Dnestr's hardline leaders of large-scale smuggling. They have called for more stringent controls of factories in the region, some of which produced sophisticated weaponry.

Reuters SC VP0132