The deputy commander of Russia's land forces began negotiations with Tajikistan's warring militias Thursday, while Russian troops seized control of vital facilities, Interfax reported.


The Russian Army has dramatically stepped up its role in Tajikistan this week. On Wednesday its troops took control of the airport at Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital.


Eduard Vorobiov sat down to talks with militia commanders in the troubled Kurgan-Tyube region, where an Izvestia report on Tuesday suggested that the number of casualties from inter-clan fighting had now reached thousands. Other estimates are far lower and no accurate figures are available.


At Tajikistan's request, Russian troops took control of vital facilities in Kurgan-Tyub. One official told Interfax that half the town's population of 40, 000 had fled.


Tajikistan is ruled by an uneasy coalition following the forced dismissal of President Rakhmon Nabiyev last month. According to a Reuters report, factions in the coalition differ widely in their attitude to Russian intervention.


"I am against reinforcing Russian troops in Tajikistan", said Deputy Prime Minister Davlat Usmon, a member of the Islamic Revival Party. "The Russian Army in Tajikistan has been the main source of weapons to the warring sides", he said according to Reuters.


But the acting prime minister, Abdulmalik Abdullodzhanov, told reporters Russian troops should stay until the conflict ends.


"The Russian troop reinforcements came to our republic not to shoot. We invited them to establish control over the fighting", he said.


Between clan rivalries and splits between Moslems, former Communists and professed democrats, there is little sign of unity in the country or the government. "At the moment we do not have consensus", Abdullodzhanov acknowledged.