Chechen warlord says all his subordinates have surrendered

Magomed Khambiyev, a Chechen separatist leader and former "interior minister of Ichkeria," who surrendered in early March, said all his subordinates have surrendered their arms and have turned themselves in to the law enforcement agencies.

"I can say confidently that all the rebels who were with me or reported to me have voluntarily refused to continue armed resistance and have applied for amnesty," Khambiyev told reporters in Gudermes on April 22.

Khambiyev refused to give the exact number of rebels who have surrendered, saying he was not authorized to release such information.

At the same time, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen president's security service, has confirmed that "practically all the rebels who reported to Khambiyev have come out of the woods and have turned themselves in to the law enforcement agencies."

"After Khambiyev turned himself in and made a public address to the rebels, calling on them to surrender their arms, 27 people who reported directly to him, not including members of other groups operating in the Urus-Martan, Achkhoy-Martan, and Vedeno regions, surrounded their weapons," Kadyrov said.

Khambiyev repeated that he does not know anything about the fate of Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev.

"Everybody in Chechnya knows that we have never liked each other, and after the military action began we became enemies because I realized that the path chosen by him and people close to him would lead to tragedy," Khambiyev said.

Speaking about Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, Khambiyev said that "up to ten people could be with him" at this time.

Editors note: See also the article "Former Defense Minister of Ichkeria urges rebels to surrender".