Grozny residents report law enforcers' raids on the eve of holidays

Law enforcers have strengthened security measures in Grozny before the New Year holidays, and on December 25, conducted passport checks, local residents have reported. The law enforcement bodies treat them as prophylactic measures.

According Grozny townspeople, armed law enforcers are visiting apartment buildings and ask about any alien persons.

"Militaries in uniform came and asked how many people live here, and whether there are any strangers," said Fatima, a local resident.

The spokesman for the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said that some prophylactic measures were undertaken in Grozny.

"On the eve of the New Year holidays, in Grozny and in the republic as a whole, security measures have been strengthened. This practice has been accepted everywhere; there is nothing unusual in it," the police have explained.