Chechen village subject to "special operation" due to kidnappingRuslan Isayev, North Caucasus, September 19 - A total of 11 people have so far been arrested as a result of
a several-day special military operation in the Chechen village of Alkhazurovo whose aim is to find Ruslanbek Yasayev, the kidnapped son of the head of the Urus-Martan district Shirvani Yasayev. The military has been checking and interrogating basically all the male inhabitants of the village.
On September 18 all males aged 15-60 were gathered in the building of a former cattle-breeding farm in the outskirts of the village. Everybody had to leave their fingerprints, go through a passport check and interrogation. After that, all but 11 persons were released.
The military did not explain the motives behind the arrests. However, the relatives fear that the arrested people are held to ransom. For the moment, the whereabouts of the arrested are not known.
Ruslanbek Yasayev, the 20-year-old son of Shirvani Yasayev, was kidnapped on September 14 when he was visiting his relatives living in Alkhazurovo. Unknown armed men in masks broke into the house and dragged him away in the direction of the nearby woods.
Accompanied by Russian forces, Shirvani Yasayev arrived to the village on September 18. Yasayev in the form of an ultimatum demanded the release of his son. He also asked the inhabitants to point at those villagers who supply goods and medicals to guerrillas living in the surrounding woods.
Otherwise, Shirvani Yasayev warned, the inhabitants of Alkhazurovo will have problems for many days on. In response, people in turn required to locate 20 persons from their village who had been detained by Russian forces in the past. (K/A,T) |
