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Russian Troops Seal Off Chechen Town, Arrest 50
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| Chechen youths, who lost their limbs in various land mine accidents in Chechnya, inspect a new artificial limb at a rehabilitation center in Vladikavkaz. |
SLEPTSOVSK, Russia, Feb. 6 (News Agencies) - Russian forces have sealed off the town of Shali in southeastern Chechnya, and are preventing all its inhabitants, including women and children, from leaving, a Chechen spokesman said in neighboring Ingushetia Wednesday .
Tanks and artillery were placed around the town and the neighboring village of Germenchug late Tuesday, February 5, Islam Khasukhatov, a spokesman for the Chechen leadership, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Around 50 people have been held for questioning, he said. However, local officials at Shali put the number of the arrested at 15.
Meanwhile, Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov was due to visit Chechnya Wednesday to discuss the disappearance Sunday, February 3, of a federal helicopter that was reported missing near the Chechen capital Grozny, said AFP.
Three days of searches for the Mi-24 helicopter, which vanished from radar screens as it traveled from Grozny to North Ossetia, capital of Vladikavkaz, have failed to provide any clues to its fate.
Military officials have said it could have crashed in the mountains in the south of the republic, but they have admitted it could also have been brought down by Chechen independence fighters, AFP added.
Eight helicopters and land search groups, representing a total of 160 men, are engaged in the operation, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
On January 27, Russia suffered one of its most serious losses in the 28-month Chechnya war when five commanders, including two generals and a deputy interior minister, were killed when their helicopter was shot down over the breakaway Muslim republic.
History
During the Soviet era, Stalin, in order to maintain power and to prevent overthrow "by external powers manipulating internal ethnic groups", was pretty brutal in his control of the Chechen people. The Chechens therefore actually said they would welcome Germany if they recognized an independent Chechnya. This led to a mass deportation and relocation of Chechen people (and others) to Kazakhstan and Siberia. Around 800,000 people are said to have been relocated this way. Perhaps 100,000 or more of these people died due to the extreme conditions.
Chechnya declared independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a move that looked as though Russia wished to show the world it could also do what the United States did to Iraq, it attacked Chechnya. The 1994-96 war left 80,000 casualties. The Russian assault devastated Grozny and other parts of Chechnya. However, the Chechens defeated Russia revealing how poor Russian military capabilities were.
Earlier in 1999, the Islamic uprising in the neighboring Dagestan region of Russia resulted in accusations by Moscow that Chechen government forces supported a Dagestan rebellion. While this was denied, Chechen fighters (that aren't really controlled by the central government) did support the Islamic uprising in Dagestan. This incursion led to a conflict with Russian forces that defeated the Chechens.
Current Crisis
Following the Chechen defeat in Dagestan, Moscow suffered bomb blasts believed to be by various separatists (although never proven). This has also led to a rise in Russia of racist sentiments against people mainly from the Caucasus regions.
Russia is now engaged in a full-scale war with Chechnya. There have been many reports of bombing raids by Russian forces and over 200,000 people are said to have fled from Chechnya. Grozny and other parts of Chechnya are being pounded and destroyed.
Once more, it is the civilian population that gets caught in the middle. Civilian casualties have been high and there has been international outcry at the brutal Russian crackdown and indiscriminate bombing and targeting of civilians.
Human Rights groups are concerned by Russian forces’ rampage, since issuing an ultimatum for citizens in Grozny to evacuate. The Russian troops have been looting and burning homes and buildings, even executing those who resist. The rest of the G8 and the European Union have even threatened to isolate Moscow if they continue their campaign.
On April 20, 2000, Chechen President, Ashlan Mashkadov, made a ceasefire offer. However, Russian demands have been stern, which triggered more suicide attacks and increased warfare by the Chechen combatants, indicating that the conflict is far from over.
As Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in April 2001, "the U.N. Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution on Chechnya that condemned serious human rights violations by Russian forces, and raised concern about forced disappearances, torture, and summary executions.
“Sponsored by the E.U., and with strong U.S. backing, the resolution called for U.N. special rapporteurs to investigate these abuses in the war-torn republic and for credible criminal investigations by domestic agencies into all human rights and humanitarian law violations.
Russia rejected a similar resolution adopted by the commission, and refused to comply with its requirements. It has vowed to do the same this year."
In May 2001, HRW also reported that Russian authorities covered evidence of extra-judicial executions.
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