WORLD IN BRIEF : SOVIET UNION : Black Beret Troops Face Criminal Probe

Soviet Prosecutor General Nikolai Trubin ordered criminal proceedings against so-called black beret troops who attacked customs checkpoints in the secessionist republics of Latvia and Lithuania. It was the first public attempt by national authorities to rein in the special Soviet Interior Ministry troops based in Riga, Latvia. Trubin’s office will investigate charges of abuse of power in connection with the destruction of 16 of the 78 checkpoints set up by the republics to emphasize their claims to independence. Two people have been killed in the attacks.