(15 Oct 2001)
1. Mid shot of soldiers lined up on parade ground
2. Shot of soldier looking through high powered telescope
3. Wide of soldiers marching
4. Mid shot of soldiers standing at attention
5. Soldiers being drilled
6. Close up of unit Commander, Genady Zhitko
7. Various shots of soldiers training in self defence
8. Close up of Russian flag
9. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Genady Zhitko, Unit Commander
"We must always be ready for action whether the action happens or not. That will be a decision of a higher political level but from what we hear from the headquarters and by conditions on the ground it might happen in the near future."
10. Mid shot of sergeant talking to troops
11. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Genady Zhitko, Unit Commander
"I think that Americans will not achieve results with the ground troop operations. They will not achieve the desired results. As for the air operations they made some success already. They inflicted damage on the Taliban and they should continue with that. But the ground operations will not bring practical results. There are lots of mountains there and caves and shelters where they can hide."
12. Shot of soldiers training in self defence
13. Mid shot of soldiers watching training
14. Shot of soldiers training in self defence
15. Soldiers marching to military music
STORYLINE:
Stationed in barracks 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Dushanbe, some 8,000 Russian soldiers guard the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Following the the September 11 attacks on the U-S, Russian troops in the regions bordering Afghanistan have been on a high state of alert.
Their main concern is to prevent any incursions over the border from Afghanistan by both refugees and fighters.
Tajikistan is anxious to stop Afghan refugees crossing the border.
It fears Muslim extremists may try to infiltrate the former Soviet republic, which is still recovering from a civil war fuelled by an Islamic fundamentalist uprising.
It is also trying to stem the flow of drugs across the border from Afghanistan - the world's largest heroin producer.
Meanwhile, as U-S attacks continue to hit Taliban targets inside Afghanistan, Russia is increasing its presence on the Tajikistan border and remains on a high state of alert.
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