21 August 2007, 14:20
People in Chechnya refute complete liquidation of separatists
The recent statement of General Dmitri Fomenko, Plenipotentiary Representative of Chechen President in the South Federal District (SFD) that all the militants' regiments have been liquidated in the territory of the Republic, and those remaining ones have moved to Ingushetia and Dagestan, is perceived by residents of the Chechen Republic (ChR) as a bad joke.
"What sort of 'complete liquidation' can we speak about, when regular armed collisions and skirmishes between 'power agents' and militants take place in the mountain and piedmont parts of the Republic?" Ahmed Saltaev, a resident of Grozny, said in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Militiamen are already executed in the centre of Grozny, what else can we say?"
"Certainly, it's ridiculous to speak that significant territories are under the control of militants. They no longer have any large regiments, as it was during the first military campaign. Now they prefer to operate in rather small groups, making their search and neutralization much more difficult. Nevertheless, in my opinion, we should not also underestimate them. Probably, indeed, certain groups of bandits moved to Dagestan and Ingushetia, but it doesn't mean at all that they have all abandoned Chechnya," an officer of the Republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs asserted.
Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent
