Summary of the main news related to the conflict in
Chechnya.
Monday, Feb 4
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov warned that Russia could modify its participation in the US-lead war on terror if the West maintains its welcoming approach to the representatives of Chechen fighters.
Russian armed forces launched a several-day „mopping-up“ operation in the Shali district, entirely sealing off the district centre Shali, in order to track arms, ammunition and Chechen fighters or people helping them. Beating and looting were the most frequently reported abuses during the operation, which lasted till Feb 11.
Tuesday, Feb 5
Hundreds of Chechens, mostly women, launched a several-day rally in front of the building of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration in Grozny in protest against the recent „mopping-up“ operations of Russian armed forces in Starye and Novye Atagi on Jan 28 – Feb 5. People also called for the end of the war and granting access of foreign journalists and human rights organisations to Chechnya.
Wednesday, Feb 6
The car of the vice premier of the pro-Moscow Chechen government, Ali Alavdinov, was blown up on a mine near Grozny. Alavdinov himself was not hurt, two of his bodyguards suffered minor injuries.
Head of the Moscow deparment of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Viktor Zakharov told the RTR television without elaboration that Russian intelligence knows virtually all participants in the terrorist acts in the Russian capital in September 1999 (bombings of residential buildings) and August 2000 (blast at the Pushkin square).
Thursday, Feb 7
Bislan Gantamirov was appointed minister of press, television and radio broadcast and communications in the pro-Moscow Chechen government by Akhmad Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya’s pro-Moscow administration, after Gantamirov on Jan 30 announced he was resigning his post of the chief federal inspector for the Southern Federal Region. The validity of Gantamirov’s appointment remains unclear, however, as it was not approved by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian Minister for Emergencies Sergei Shoygu to prepare a plan for the repatriation of several thousand Chechen refugees from the Pankissi gorge in Georgia back to Chechnya. An inter-ministerial commission, consisting of representatives of Russian Ministries of Emergencies, Interior and Health had left for Tbilisi to discuss all aspects of the repatriation.
A Russian military helicopter Mi-8 crashed near Khankala, the Russian main military base in Chechnya, killing 9 people on board and injuring one.
Friday, Feb 8
A total of 42 Russian officers and soldiers were convicted during the last two years for their abuses committed on civilians in Chechnya, said Vladimir Kalamanov, Russian President’s special envoy for human and civil rights in Chechnya.
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