Members of Moscow-backed Chechen forces settle an old scoreBy Ruslan Isayev
MAYRTUP, Chechnya – Some members of the Moscow-backed Chechen forces sometimes make use of their official position to settle old scores with opponents.
As for instance in the Mayrtup village recently, when armed men stormed and ransacked the houses of Ramzan and Yakhya Dedishev. Fortunately both owners managed to flee to safety before the assailants arrived.
The intruders set about breaking furniture, the dishes, and office equipment in each house; after scattering all the belongings, they departed.
It seems that the reason for this behavior was simply to frighten the owners. The story behind it goes back to before the second Chechen war (1999- ) when these two houses, inhabited by the Dedishevs, were ransacked by local villagers. They were eventually caught and, according to local custom, had to pay heavy fines as punishment.
Because the burglars are now part of the defense force of the Moscow-backed Chechen Vice-Premier Ramzan Kadirov, the victims believe that these men were the ones who carried out the attack.
The Dedishevs have not officially lodged a complaint fearing this would do little good other than make matters worse.
(MG/E,T,B)
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