Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
Monday, August 5
At its last session in Grozny, the constitutional committee of the pro-Moscow administration of Chechnya made final amendments to and approved a draft constitution of the republic. At the request of the head of the administration and the chief contributor to the document, Akhmad Kadyrov, the commission replaced words describing Chechnya as "a sovereign constituent state of Russia" with words "a full-fledged member of the Russian Federation".
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze told journalists that the 13 Chechens who were arrested by Georgian border guards on August 3 and 4 would be handed over to Moscow only if the Russian authorities furnish evidence that the detainees are "criminals and terrorists". Georgia would carry out special operations and not a large-scale operation in the Pankisi gorge against the suspected Chechen fighters, Shevardnadze said adding that the absolute majority of the population in Pankisi are civilians.
Tuesday, August 6
Ten Chechen soldiers drafted this year to the Russian army died and several other were injured in the district town of Shatoi when a lorry carrying them hit a mine several dozen metres from the local military headquarters. The Russian and world media claimed it was another attack by Chechen fighters while representatives of the Chechen resistance movement sharply denied their involvement in it.
Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov flew to Tbilisi to meet his Georgian counterpart Nugzar Gabrichidze and demand the extradition of the 13 Chechens detained by Georgian border guards on August 3 and 4. Georgia, which had charged the detainees with illegally crossing into the country, the illegal possession of firearms and the export of explosives, refused to extradite them to Russia without documentary evidence proving the they had been involved in criminal activities in Russia.
Wednesday, August 7
The regional operative staff in charge of the "anti-terrorist operation" in the North Caucasus announced that Khusein Idiyev, who is suspected of taking part in the murder of three Britons and one New Zealander in Chechnya in 1998, was detained in the Naurski district.
Thursday, August 8
Chairman of Russia's Central Election Committee Alexandr Veshnyakov said that Chechnya needs to vote in a referendum on the republic's constitution but in his view the referendum is more likely to take place in late 2003 rather than in the generally mentioned late 2002.
Friday, August 9
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov refused media reports according to which the Russian military is allegedly planning an operation against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi gorge in Georgia.
Chechen field commander Abdul Rakhman Dashayev was killed during a special operation in the vicinity of Kharsenoi, the Russian military said. Chechen sources have not made any comment on it.
Saturday, August 10
The Georgian State Security Ministry handed over to Russian law enforcement agencies documents on the 13 Chechen fighters who had been detained on August 3 and 4 at the Russian-Georgian border.
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