Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya.
Monday, Oct 22
Commander of the Joint Group of the Armed Forces in the Northern Caucasus, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Moltenskoy, announced that in view of the results of recent inspections at Russian checkpoints in Chechnya he had sent several high-ranking officers back to their units. Moltenskoy added that the inspections, which showed that Russian soldiers at checkpoints extort money and abuse civilians, will cover all checkpoints in Chechnya.
Tuesday, Oct 23
Various special permits allowing their holders to pass through checkpoints have become void and standard Russian passports took over their function as of Oct 23, said commander of the Joint Group of the Armed Forces in the Northern Caucasus, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Moltenskoy.
Russian Defence Ministry assured the public it is taking all possible measures to achieve the release of Lieutenant-Colonel Sergei Boryayev, who had been taken prisoner by Chechen fighters on Sept 29 and then offered to be swapped, allegedly for 25 detained Chechen women.
Wednesday, Oct 24
The meeting of Viktor Kazantsev, Russian President’s envoy to the Southern Federal District, and Akhmed Zakayev, Chechen President’s representative for the upcoming Russian-Chechen talks on the possible termination of fighting, will take place in Moscow in a couple of days or a week or two, Kazantsev’s office informed.
Imran Ezhiyev, chairman of the North Caucasus office of the Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship and head of the refugee camp in the Ingush village of Yander, was transported to a facility of the Russian Interior Ministry in Grozny. Ezhiyev was detained on October 13 and before his transport to Grozny he was held at the Sunza police station in Ingushetia. – Prima News Agency Thursday, Oct 25
The airport in Grozny was declared ready for use. The date of the actual opening of the airport, where the Vainakh-Avia airline company is likely to operate, has not been set yet as the security situation is still unstable. Friday, Oct 26
Some 162,000 refugees stay in Chechnya’s neighbouring regions, namely Ingushetia, North Osetia, Dagestan and the Stavropol region, said colonel Ruslan Avtayev, minister of emergencies in the pro-Moscow Chechen government. According to the State Statistical Committee of the Russian Federation, there are 603,400 people living in Chechnya at the moment, of whom 145,000 are living in towns. – AVN Interfax
Working groups of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which are led by the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Valentin Sobolev, arrived in Chechnya and Rostov-on-Don to inspect the work of information and propaganda bodies within the Southern Federal District and military structures involved in the „anti-terrorist operation“ in the North Caucasus. – Nezavisimaya gazeta
Ali Aysultanov, a close aide and former body guard of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, was killed in a special operation of Russian forces, said Ilya Shabalkin of the PR department of the Russian Federal Security Service.
Saturday, Oct 27
Akhmed Zakayev, Chechen President’s representative for the upcoming Russian-Chechen talks on the possible termination of fighting, said in an interview for Radio Svoboda that the compromise of the talks could be derived from the statements of Russian and Chechen Presidents according to which the mutual security of Russia and Chechnya is more important than the status of Chechnya.
Sunday, Oct 28
Salavdi Gairbekov, head of the Nozhai-Yurt district police, was shot dead when driving a car in the centre of Argun.
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