Chechen rebels say will attack all over Russia

MOSCOW, Apr 23 (Reuters) Chechnya's rebels are preparing to send out fighters to attack Russia anywhere on its territory, and could activate their attacks any day now, a spokesman for the movement said.

In comments published on a rebel Web site, Movladi Udugov said the separatist movement had rejected Western democracy, in favour of setting up a state ruled only by Islamic law.

His comments will raise concerns the rebels might be prepared to return to the use of suicide bombers, which were previously sent against civilian targets in Moscow and the Caucasus, but have not been used since 2004.

''Our minimum goal -- not to surrender -- is achieved. Now we have a different goal, which is total war, war everywhere you can find the enemy, ... a war of units unified with mobile groups and individuals, which can operate autonomously to the rear of the enemy without waiting for orders,'' Udugov said.

''We are counting not on the scale of attacks, but their effectiveness. And this requires staging attacks at any point in all of Russia, not only in the Caucasus.'' The debate between pro-Western Chechens and Saudi-inspired Islamists split the region after Russian troops pulled out in 1996, and the de facto independent government's adoption of some elements of Islamic law alienated many former allies.

When Russian troops were sent back into Chechnya in 1999, the Kremlin said it wanted to crush religious extremism on behalf of Russia's secular constitution.

Ironically, the pro-Moscow Chechens now in power have brought in elements of religious law themselves, enforcing head scarves for women, and cracking down on alcohol and gambling.

Russia says the war is all but over, although rebel attacks are still daily events. According to monitoring by Web site voinenet.ru, Russian media reported some 20 people died last week in clashes between troops and rebels.

Udugov, who is in exile in an undisclosed location, has been locked in a debate with fellow rebel Akhmed Zakayev, who lives in London and believes in building a Western-style democracy.

The debate was often simplified as a stand-off between those who believed the Chechens should target Russian civilians -- like the children seized as hostages in Beslan in 2004 -- and those who think they should only fight soldiers and police.

The debate was ended late last year when rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev appointed Udugov sole spokesman for the rebel movement, which is still fighting Russia despite being diminished by 11 years of war.

''Among the leaders who are on the territory of the Chechen state and North Caucasus, there are no supporters of democracy. People are not fighting for democracy, but for the establishment of the Shariat (Islamic law),'' Udugov said in comments on his Web site (www.kavkazcenter.com).

''Will there by a referendum if Russian troops leave the Caucasus? No, there will not. However, the very fact of the troops' being driven out is a referendum of a sort.'' REUTERS SRS PM1636