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International Committee of the Red Cross suspends all its operations and movements in Chechnya

PRESS RELEASE OF THE

Moscow, 30 May 2001 (ICRC) – A member of the local staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was wounded at a checkpoint of the Federal Forces in Staropromyslovky district, at the entry to the city of Grozny, on Tuesday, 29 May, 2001, at around 4.30 p.m., as his vehicle, clearly marked with the red cross emblem, was stopped for a routine check. Under circumstances, which so far remain unclear, several shots were fired and Mr. Arbi Israilov, an ICRC employee, riding in this vehicle, was wounded in the abdomen. He was taken to hospital No. 9 in Grozny where he was successfully operated on the same evening. In the morning of 30 May his condition was stable. The ICRC mission in Nalchik (North Caucasus), as well as the ICRC regional delegation in Moscow, immediately contacted the Russian authorities and requested that an investigation should be carried out.

At the moment, the ICRC, deeply concerned by the difficulties encountered in the course of its humanitarian work in Chechnya, is acting to clarify the circumstances of this incident with the Russian authorities. It has also decided to suspend all its operations and all its movements in Chechnya pending reception of clearer security information details. We are addressing our message of solidarity to our wounded colleague and wish him a speedy recovery.

The ICRC has worked in the North Caucasus and, in particular, in Chechnya, since 1993. After the murder of six ICRC delegates in Novye Atagi on 17 December, 1996, and the kidnapping of one ICRC delegate in 1999, the ICRC activities inside Chechnya has been carried out mostly by local staff supported by expatriate delegates who come to Chechnya on one-time missions. The main humanitarian activities of the ICRC and its partner, the Russian Red Cross, in favour of victims in Chechnya are as follows: medical assistance programmes, drinking water distribution to more than 50,000 beneficiaries, food distribution to approximately 30,000 vulnerable people, visits of detainees, as well as assistance to approximately 170,000 displaced persons in the North Caucasus. Currently, 12 expatriate delegates and 381 local staff members of the ICRC are based in the region.