Russian army says 35 Chechen rebels surrender

GROZNY, Russia, Nov 23 (Reuters) Thirty-five rebels who had fought pro-Russian forces in Chechnya laid down their weapons today in one of the biggest mass surrenders under an amnesty agreement, a Russian military spokesman said.

Russia has fought two wars against separatist fighters in its southern republic of Chechnya since 1994 but despite continued skirmishes says it has regained control of the region.

It has introduced an amnesty to entice rebels to give up their weapons in exchange for being allowed to walk away free.

''This is a big number,'' a spokesman for Russia's forces in Chechnya, Nikolai Varavin, said. ''In the last 10 months 339 people have already surrendered, plus another 35 today.'' In August 50 rebels surrendered at one time.

The rebels mainly hide out in the Caucasus mountains which Chechnya backs onto. Their main tactic is ambushing Russian convoys in isolated mountain roads and earlier this month separatists killed seven Russian police.

The separatists surrendered in the town of Gudermes, around 30 km east of the Chechen capital Grozny.

Gudermes is the headquarters of Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's strongman and prime minister. His militia helps the Kremlin hunt down and fight the separatists.

REUTERS SP BST2114