Message posted by Jose on November 24, 2000 at 00:49:26 EST:
This region of the Caucasus Mountains, just west of the Caspian Sea, has been the scene of heavy fighting recently between Russian troops and soldiers of the breakaway republic of Chechnya and their Islamic guerrilla allies. "Alarms went off at 1 a.m. local time yesterday (November 14, 2000) and an hour later. Confusion was extreme in the Dagestan hills bordering Chechnya." "At 2 a.m. local time, the first lucid reports began to come in from the Magaramkent region on the Caspian Sea regarding the unidentified flying object which had caused Russian forces to sound 'Battle stations.'" "Soldiers provided a detailed description of the object because they witnessed it for a long time as it slowly continued toward the (Caspian) sea. Some garrisons noticed that it was an object flying at low altitude, some 100 meters (330 feet above ground) and had three fluorescent lights above it with two-meter (six feet, seven inches) spaces between them, according to the Russian Ministry of the Interior in Dagestan." "Scientists at the Russian Academy of Science in Dagestan were cautious and related their unwillingness to state if the object in question was indeed a Aurora." "Several civilian witnesses agreed on the description of the lights arrangement on the mysterious phenomenon while hesitating to ascribe its origin to a secret weapon of the Russian Army or some new weapon in the hands of the Islamic separatists." STAVKA (Russian military command) in Dagestan scrambled a flight of Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighters to intercept the Aurora but "the jet fighters arrived--too late--into the pursuit." "Acting quickly to forestall any possible rumors," the Russians "indicated that it could be a NATO spy plane interested in Russian military maneuvers in the Caucasus and the Caspian" regions. On the rebel side, however, the Muslims hailed the Aurora phenomenon as a sign from Allah. ""Muslim leaders in Dagestan were less ambiguous in their statements." They claimed "the strange phenomenon was a portent which bore a message from Allah himself. Even an imam (Islamic spiritual leader) for Dagestan stated that without any doubt 'a djinn (genie), an angel or another heavenly being, since Allah's Garden of Bliss is filled with these.'" Three days later, the small Caucasus nation of Georgia, located 320 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of the Caspian Sea, suffered a mysterious nationwide power failure. "Georgia's power grid failed Friday," November 19, 2000) throwing most of the Caucasus Mountain country of 5.3 million people into darkness and stranding rush hour subway passengers in the capital, Tbilsi, officials said." "Some lights were flickering back on several hours after sunset. The Black Sea town of Batumi, which gets part of its power from neighboring Turkey, had some electricity." "Hundreds of people gathered in dark streets Friday, sounding frantic and outraged. Some lit fires for light and warmth and chanted, 'Light! Light!' Motorists honked horns in protest. Most later went home." "The late afternoon blackout occurred when 'the entire system, the whole grid, failed,' Minister of Fuel and Energy David Mirtskhuvala said, calling it 'a massive problem.'" "'Cold, hunger, everything in ruins--people are fleeing Georgia,' said Valeri Beridze, 50, an engineer." "Subway service was restored later in the evening after a breakdown that left riders shaking with anxiety. 'It was pitch dark, and I was scared,' said Ivesta Darsavelidze, 30, a teacher."
According to the Spanish newspaper Diario de mallorca for November 15, 2000, A large black triangle flew over Russian troops dug in along the ridges in Dagestan during the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 14, 2000.
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