MOSCOW, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Russia Thursday denied media reports of new armed clashes in Chechnya, Interfax news agency reported.
"The Chechen republic has been calm in the first days of the new year," a spokesman for Russian forces in the rebellious autonomous republic in the north Caucasus told Interfax. "Not a single armed clash has been recorded on Chechen territory in the past 24 hours."
There has not been "a single instance of a terrorist attack, shooting at federal forces, or losses among the federal forces either in killed or wounded has been registered in the past 24 hours," the spokesman said.
Commenting on reports about armed clashes and losses, the spokesman said: "Some media outlets have been gradually more often playing into the hands of illegal armed groups, spreading false information at their suggestion."
"They are just trying to pass off what is desirable for what is real. They are circulating information they get from illegal armed groups without bothering themselves to check it with any law enforcement agency of the Chechen republic," he said.
