Are Chechen Exiles Being Hunted Down?

The reported victim, Mamikhan Umarov, was known as Anzor of Vienna.

DW: Austria: Two arrested after Chechen dissident shot dead

Austria's counter-terrorism unit is probing the murder of an ethnic Chechen man near the city of Vienna. Speculation is growing that the killing was a political assassination connected to Ramzan Kadyrov's region.

Austrian counter-terrorism authorities have begun an investigation after a 43-year-old man believed to be an ethnic Chechen was shot dead near the capital Vienna, police officials said Sunday.

The attack took place Saturday evening in Gerasdorf near Vienna in the driveway of a construction company.

Austrian police say they have detained a 47-year-old Russian man following a car chase in the city of Linz, about 180 kilometers east of the capital.

A second man, who had initially been considered a witness, was arrested later on Sunday and taken in investigative custody, a court spokesman said.

"The circumstances of the crime are unclear," police said but added that Austria's State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counter-Terrorism is now handling the investigation.

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More News On The Death Of A Chechen Dissident Murdered In Austria

Russian Shot Dead Near Vienna Was Reportedly A Kadyrov Critic -- RFE
Russians arrested in Austria over killing of Chechen dissident -- The Guardian/AFP
Austria police probe murder of Chechan critic as political hit -- FOX News
Russian man killed in Austria had declined police protection -- AP
Russian citizen arrested in Austria over shooting of ‘Chechen refugee’, sparking media speculation of ‘contract killing’ -- RT

Are Chechen Death Squads Roaming Europe Killing Former Separatist Commanders?

Photo: Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist commander, shot dead in Berlin in August.

The Guardian: ‘We can find you anywhere’: the Chechen death squads stalking Europe

Ramzan Kadyrov rules the Caucasus republic through fear and oppression, amid reports of torture. But those seeking asylum in Europe are not safe, as assassins hunt them down.

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili spent a long time living on the edge. He survived several years of partisan warfare against Russian forces in Chechnya during the early 2000s. He survived an assassination attempt in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi in 2015, a spray of bullets hitting him in the arm and shoulder. He survived a stint living in Ukraine, where he was tipped off about another planned attack and went into hiding. Finally, he arrived in Germany towards the end of 2016, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think he felt much safer here. He was only thinking about building a bright future in Germany, also for the children, not about fighting or going back there,” said Manana Tsatieva, Khangoshvili’s ex-wife, who lives in Germany with their four children.

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WNU Editor: It is hard for me to feel any sympathy to these former Chechen separatist commanders. These Islamic extremists are responsible not only for murdering opponents in Chechnya during their drive for independence, but also launching a terror campaign against Russian civilians that then precipitated two destructive and bloody wars followed by a terror campaign that killed tens of thousands of people. The Beslan school massacre, the Moscow theatre hostage crisis, the list is long and many. It is also a sad state of affairs that it takes a psychotic like Ramzan Kadyrov who currently rules this Caucasus republic to go after these other psychotics who have caused so much pain.

Report: Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men

Head of the Republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. The Kremlin

New York Times: Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says

MOSCOW — First, two television reporters vanished. Then a waiter went missing. Over the past week, men ranging in age from 16 to 50 have disappeared from the streets of Chechnya.

On Saturday, a leading Russian opposition newspaper confirmed a story already circulating among human rights activists: The Chechen authorities were arresting and killing gay men.

While abuses by security services in the region, where Russia fought a two-decade war against Islamic insurgents, have long been a stain on President Vladimir V. Putin’s human rights record, gay people had not previously been targeted on a wide scale.

The men were detained “in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such,” the newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported, citing Russian federal law enforcement officials, who blamed the local authorities.

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WNU Editor: Chechen authorities are denying these reports .... Chechen authorities deny media report on 'mass detentions' of gays (RT). As to what is my take on this story .... I learned a long time ago to not trust what happens in Chechnya .... and to always be very skeptical on all news that comes out from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's government.

More News On Reports That Chechen Authorities Are Arresting and Killing Gay Men

Report: Chechnya police arrest 100 alleged gays, 3 killed -- AP
Chechen police 'have rounded up more than 100 suspected gay men' -- The Guardian
Authorities Reportedly Detaining and Killing Gay Men in Chechnya -- Slate
Gay Men Are Being Rounded Up And Killed In Chechnya: Report -- Huffington Post
Chechnya Gay Killings & Roundups: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know -- Heavy.com

Chechen Leader Tells His Security Forces To Shoot At Russian Troops Who Are Operating In Chechnya Without Approval

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) met with Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Dec. 4, 2014. Reuters

The Guardian: Chechen leader tells soldiers to fire on unapproved Russian troops in region

Ramzan Kadyrov instructs security forces to shoot at soldiers from other regions operating in Chechnya without his permission

Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has told his security forces to open fire on Russian federal troops if they operate in the region without his approval.

He told his troops they could shoot at unauthorised soldiers from other regions after the killing of a man in the Chechen capital, Grozny, by security forces from a neighbouring region.

Kadyrov said: “I would like to officially state: open fire if someone from Moscow or Stavropol, it doesn’t matter, appears on your turf without your knowledge. We have to be reckoned with.”

WNU Editor: This sounds more like .... shoot first, ask questions later. This is also tells me that relations between Moscow and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov may not be as "rosy" as in the past .... and that serious differences may now be starting to come between them. There also is more to this story than what is being said.

More News On Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov Telling His Security Forces To Shoot At Russian Troops Who Are Operating Without Approval

Chechen leader tells men to open fire on Russian federal troops if they act without approval -- FOX News/AP
Chechnya's Security Forces To 'Open Fire' On Russian Troops Operating Without Permission, Ramzan Kadyrov Says -- IBTimes
Kadyrov Tells Police 'Shoot To Kill' Security From Outside Chechnya -- Radio Free Europe

Has Chechen Waqrlord Doku Umarov Who Threatened To Attack The Games In Sochi Been Killed By Russian Special Forces?

Doku Umarov (archive). © AFP 2013/ Ansar AlJihad Network

Chechen Warlord Doku Umarov Who Threatened Sochi Olympics Is 'Killed By Russian Special Forces' -- Daily Mail

* Doku Umarov, threatened to attack the Games in Sochi, Russia
* Ramzan Kadyrov wrote the unverified claims on his Instagram account
* Islamic sharia judge Abu Mohammed Ali Daghestani also confirmed the news

A Chechen warlord who had urged his followers to attack the Olympic Games has been killed, it has been reported.

Doku Umarov, who threatened to attack the Games in Sochi, Russia, is dead according to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov who wrote the unverified claims on his Instagram account.

Kadyrov has made the claims a number of times in the past and no proof has been submitted to verify his death.

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More News On Reports That Chechen Warlord Doku Umarov Has Been Killed

Chechen Leader Claims New Evidence for Top Militant's Death -- RIA Novosti
Chechen Leader Kadyrov Again Says Rebel Leader Umarov is Dead -- Moscow Times
Chechen Militant Who Targeted Olympics Is Dead, Kadyrov Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Kadyrov: Rebel leader who threatened Sochi is dead -- Washington Post/AP
Islamist rebel who threatened Olympics claimed dead -- Global Post/AFP
Chechen Rebel Leader Doku Umarov Is Reportedly Dead… Or Is He? -- Palash Ghosh, IBTimes
Chechnya says Islamic warlord is dead. Does it matter for Sochi? -- Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor

Update: Security forces dismiss reports Russia's top militant is dead -- Reuters

Chechnya: Republic of Contrasts (RT Documentary)

WNU Editor: A look at Chechnya from a Russian perspective.

Chechen President Blames America For Boston Marathon Bomb Suspects' Acts Of Terror

Chechen President Blames AMERICA For Boston Bomb Suspects' Acts Of Evil Because Of 'Immoral Upbringing' -- Daily Mail

* Suspects may have attacked US because of its relationship with Russia
* Chechen militants have long history of attacking Russia, but never West
* Expert says aftermath of 2004 Beslan school siege sparked hatred for West

Chechnya's Russian-backed president has hit out at America for killing one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers and blamed the US for moulding them into terrorists.

Chechen-born Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died from gunshot wounds and possible blast injuries after a fierce gun battle rocked the Watertown area of Boston hours after a police officer was shot dead at the nearby MIT campus.

His 19-year-old brother, Dzhokha, fled the shoot out and is on the run, reportedly having strapped explosives to his body.

But President Ramzan Kadyrov, a former Chechen rebel himself, told US authorities that 'any attempt to draw a connection' between Chechnya and the brothers was 'futile'.

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My Comment: See the above video .... this Chechen leader has a zero tolerance policy towards Chechen rebels.

Update: Chechen President Says American Upbringing to Blame -- Weekly Standard

Inside The Deadly Russian Region Of Chechnya And Dagestan That The Boston Marathon Bombers Use To Call Home

(Laris Karklis/The Washington Post)

Inside The Deadly Russian Region The Tsarnaev Family Used To Call Home -- Pssport/Foreign Policy

As new details emerge about the two brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings, we're learning that the Tsarnaev family briefly lived in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's Dagestan region near Chechnya, before moving to the United States in 2002. The Associated Press says it's spoken to the suspects' father, who is in Makhachkala ("My son is a true angel," he declares). And here's the AP on the suspect who is still at large:

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More News On Chechnya And Dagestan

9 questions about Chechnya and Dagestan you were too embarrassed to ask -- Washington Post
Chechnya and Dagestan: troubled corners -- Global Post
Chechnya. Kyrgyzstan. The Caucasus. -- Slate
Chechnya, Dagestan, and the North Caucasus: A Very Brief History -- Smithsonian Magazine
Chechnya region is known as cauldron of Islamic militancy -- New York Daily News
Ties between Islamic extremist groups and Chechnya well-documented -- FOX News
Chechen Conflict Spawns Terrorism -- Voice of America
Troubled North Caucasus region still scene of conflict -- CNN
Boston Bombing Suspects Put Chechnya in Spotlight -- National Geographic
Russia's Caucasus have seen decades of war, terror -- SFGate/AP
Russia’s Caucasus: Breeding Ground for Terror -- Time/AP
Islam and Chechyna -- World Policy Blog
Chechens' Violent History Includes 'Black Widows,' Attacks on School, Theater -- ABC News
Major Chechen attacks in Russia -- Alert Net
Chechnya: What its militants are fighting for -- Mercury News/AP
What to Read Now on Chechnya The best background info on the Boston suspects -- Lydia Depillis, New Republic

So Much For Freedom Of The Press In Chechnya

Photo: Ramzan Kadrov with Vladimir Putin. Wikipedia

Chechen Newspaper Shut Down After Reporter Asks Putin A Question -- The Guardian

Leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, orders closure of paper after taking disliking to question asked by reporter in Moscow

When Chechen journalist Bilkhi Dudaeva stood up and asked Vladimir Putin a question during the president's annual press conference on Thursday, she probably thought she was doing her homeland proud.

Instead, Dudaeva's newspaper was shut down by the end of the marathon question-and-answer session, having caught the ire of Ramzan Kadyrov, the ruthless leader of Chechnya.

Dudaeva introduced herself to Putin as a journalist from the newspaper "Kadyrov's Path," eliciting laughter from a group of reporters well versed in the Chechen leader's powerful cult of personality.

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My Comment: Life is also tough for Putin's political opponents.

Violence Continues In Chechnya

Soldiers Killed In Chechnya Bombing -- Al Jazeera

Interior ministry troops among the dead after suspected bombers strike outside Russian region's capital Grozny.

A suicide bombing in Chechnya has killed four people and injured three others in the latest violence in the Russian region.

Two officers and a soldier died in the explosion on Monday when their armoured vehicle travelling between the garrison town of Khankala and the capital, Grozny, made a stop, Vasily Panchenkov, a spokesman for the interior ministry troops, said.

"They got out of the vehicle. A blast took place," he said, adding that a civilian was also killed.

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More News On Today's Suicide Attack In Chechnya

Four Confirmed Dead in Grozny Suicide Blast -- RIA Novosti
Bomb blast hits Chechen capital, several people killed -- RT
Blast kills four in Russia's volatile Chechnya -- Reuters
Four killed in Chechnya suicide attack -- AFP
Russian soldiers killed in Chechen 'suicide' blast -- BBC
Russia's war in the Caucasus -- Tom Parfitt, The Telegraph
Caucasus forgotten -- Gazetta.ru editorial

Islamic Honor Killings Return To Chechnya

Chechen Women In Mortal Fear As President Backs Islamic Honor Killings -- Washington Times

ACHXOY-MARTAN, Chechnya — Chechnya's government is openly approving of families that kill female relatives who violate their sense of honor, as this Russian republic embraces a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam after decades of religious suppression under Soviet rule.

In the past five years, the bodies of dozens of young Chechen women have been found dumped in woods, abandoned in alleys and left along roads in the capital, Grozny, and neighboring villages.

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My Comment: These crimes were unfathomable when Chechnya was a part of the former Soviet Union .... and now .... with strong political and military support from Moscow .... this horrid crime is returning.

Hello To The New Chechnya

Kadyrov's Rule Inspires Fear In Chechnya -- Seattle PI/AP

GROZNY, Russia -- The brightly lit avenues, imposing new mosque and glitzy shopping malls in Chechnya's once bomb-scarred capital mean nothing to Raisa Turluyeva, whose son disappeared after being seized by black-uniformed security forces.

To Turluyeva, 40, the rule of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov is even more frightening than the past wars between separatist fighters and Russian troops that left Grozny in ruins.

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Update: The Islamic Republic of Chechnya -- Foreign Policy

My Comment: My friends and family back in Russia tell me that the fear in Chechnya is even more pervasive than what is reported. In addition .... the fact that a good number of Chechens now live abroad is testament to what they are fleeing from.

Islamist Suicide Attack On Chechen Parliament Kills Six With Many Wounded

Six Dead In Islamist Suicide Attack On Chechen Parliament In Grozny -- The Telegraph

At least six people are feared to have been killed in a suicide attack by suspected Islamist militants on two goverment buildings in the Chechen capital Grozny.

Initial reports said a small group of three or four gunmen burst into government buildings, opening fire with automatic weapons.

Unnamed law enforcement sources told Russian news agencies that two of the militants had blown themselves up, killing four security guards.

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More News On Islamist Suicide Attack On Chechen Parliament In Grozny

Deadly attack on Chechen parliament raises fears of new violence (Wrapup) -- RIA Novosti
Militants storm Chechen parliament in deadly standoff -- AFP
Six dead as Russian special forces repel suicide attack on Chechen parliament -- The Telegraph
Armed Militants Storm Chechnyan Parliament Buildings in Deadly Attack -- ABC News
Chechnya parliament attacked; 6 dead -- UPI
Gunmen Dead After Attack on Chechen Parliament -- New York Times
Militants Attack Chechen Parliament -- Wall Street Journal
Chechen parliament works as usual after gunmen's attack -- Xinhuanet
Chechen troops 'eliminate' rebels in bloody battle for parliament -- London Evening Standard
All terrorists in Chechen parliament attack ‘eliminated’ (Update 3) -- RIA Novosti
Chechen Parliament Attack Steps Up Pressure on Putin Loyalists -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Militants Fail To Assassinate Chechen President. 19 Killed, Many Wounded

Islamist Rebels Launch Deadly Attack On Chechen President's Village

At least 19 people including five civilians die as insurgents strike against pro-Moscow leader Ramzan Kadyrov

At least 19 people were killed today after Islamist rebels launched an audacious attack on the heavily defended residence of Chechnya's pro-Kremlin president, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Chechen officials said that 12 insurgents and two guards were killed after the rebels slipped into Tsentoroi, Kadyrov's home village, also known as Khosi-Yurt, in the early hours of this morning . Russian TV reported that five civilians had also been killed in fierce fighting.

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More News On Today's Attack In Chechen President's Village

12 suspected rebels killed in Chechnya: president -- AFP
Chechen militants killed 5 police in Kadyrov's home village -- RIA Novosti
Kadyrov's native village attackers eliminated -- RIA Novosti
Police defeat Caucasus Emirate assault on Chechen president's hometown -- Long War Journal
Rebels attack Chechen leader's home -- Al Jazeera
Chechen Leader’s Village Is Attacked -- New York Times
19 dead in shootout in Russia's Caucasus -- AP
Chechen president fights militants in home village -- CNN
Militants Strike Kadyrov's Home Village -- Moscow Times
In Chechnya, A Blood Feud Ends—and a Despot Digs In -- Time Magazine

Peace Talks In Chechnya?

Chairman of the Chechen Parliament and representative of the Kadyrov government, Dukhvakha Abdurakhmanov, during a press conference in Oslo, Norway Friday July 24, 2009. The Chechnya Peace Forum has mediated the first talks for political stability in eight years in the latest move to resolve the conflict in Chechnya. (AP Photo/ Morten Holm / SCANPIX)

Chechen Gov't, Separatist Leaders Meet For Talks -- Yahoo News/AP

OSLO – A Chechen separatist leader and a senior representative of the regional government said Friday they have met for talks to bring stability to the war-scarred Russian region. It was the first such contacts between the two sides in eight years.

Rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev and Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov, chairman of the Chechen regional parliament, gave few details about the meetings in the Norwegian capital. They also remained tightlipped when asked whether the talks had yielded any concrete results.

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More News On Chechnya

Talks with Chechen separatist leader to continue in London -- RIA Novosti
Chechen official talks peace with separatist Zakayev -- Washington Post/Reuters
Chechen separatist leader may announce return from exile - paper -- RIA Novosti
Police officer killed, another wounded in N. Caucasus -- RIA Novosti
“Russia cannot allow collapse of power in the Caucasus” – Medvedev -- RT News

My Comment: Chechnya is to Russia what Northern Ireland was to Britain. A low level insurgency that shows no sign of letting up. For Great Britain, peace was "somewhat" resolved among all the parties in Northern Ireland after decades of conflict, imprisonment, and hardship. Chechnya has experienced worse .... but it appears that some of Chechnya's leaders are now looking for a solution to a conflict that s been going on for over 15 years. This is just a first step .... what comes after that is patience and more talk.

After 10 Years, Russia Declares End To Chechnya 'Operation'

Pro-Moscow strongman Ramzan Kadyrov (L) could increase his
control over the region's security. Photo AFP

Russia Ends Chechnya War - But The Killings
Continue -- Times Online

The Kremlin has bought "peace" in the turbulent republic by supporting a squalid dictatorship accused of involvement in torture and murder

It has been a long and brutal struggle but Russia has finally declared an end to its war against separatists in Chechnya.

The fighting may be over but the killings continue. The Kremlin has bought “peace” in this turbulent southern republic by supporting the squalid dictatorship of Ramzan Kadyrov, a figure repeatedly accused of involvement in torture and murder. The former rebel, who switched sides to support Vladimir Putin, rules Chechnya with an iron fist and brooks no challenge.

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More News On Chechnya

Russia 'ends Chechnya operation' -- BBC
Russia declares end to Chechnya 'operation' -- CNN
Russia lifts security regime in Chechnya -- Reuters
Russia ends 10 year Chechnya anti-terror operation -- AFP
Russia ends Chechnya operation -- Al Jazeera
Counter-terrorism operation ends in Chechnya -- RIA Novosti
Russia ends Chechen security operation -- CBC
Security Regime in Chechnya Lifted -- Moscow Times
Chechen problem far from over -- BBC
Investigation resumes into 2004 death of first Chechen president -- RIA Novosti

Slain Exile Detailed Cruelty Of The Ruler Of Chechnya

Umar S. Israilov’s funeral Jan. 22 in Vienna. He accused Chechnya’s president of torture.
Josef Polleross for The New York Times

From The New York Times:

Umar S. Israilov saw the men who had come to kill him. They confronted him in the neighborhood where he lived in hiding in Vienna. He must have sensed their intentions, because he ran.

For more than two years, Mr. Israilov, a Chechen in exile, had formally accused Russia’s government of allowing a macabre pattern of crimes in Chechnya. Even by the dark norms of violence in the Caucasus, his accusations were extraordinary.

A rebel fighter turned bodyguard of Ramzan A. Kadyrov, Chechnya’s current president, Mr. Israilov had access to the inner ring of Chechen power. Mr. Kadyrov’s career has been sponsored by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who as president lifted him from obscurity with unwavering Kremlin support.

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My Comment: Welcome to the new Russia, and the people who now rule it. If I was a Russian, I will be very afraid. If I was someone who lives outside (like Europe) .... I should be concerned.

Chechen Warlord Gunned Down In Instanbul

From RIA Novosti:

ANKARA, December 11 (RIA Novosti) - A former Chechen separatist field commander has been killed in Istanbul, Turkish media reported on Thursday.

Islam Janibekov, 38, who had been living with his family in Istanbul for the last six years, was probably shot with a 7.62mm pistol with a silencer near his home on Tuesday evening, according to police.

The Turkish newspaper Sabah, citing police officials, said that the murder was carried out using a Groza, a silenced double-barreled pistol.

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Chechnya's Warlord

Rags To Riches For Warlord Ramzan Kadyrov Who Switched Sides -- Times Online

On the final part of his journey down ‘Kidnap Highway’, Roger Boyes finds a strongman leader enforcing an uneasy stability in Chechnya

One of my self-imposed missions in dust-caked Grozny had been to find the shop that supplies the meat for the lions, panthers and leopards that populate the private zoo of warlord-turned-President Ramzan Kadyrov.

But the capital of Chechnya is in the midst of a pharaonic reconstruction and even the locals are getting lost. One engineer holed up in my bedbug-infected hotel, the Kavkaz, had shiny eyes when he talked of the building work. It was, he said, comparable to the great socialist projects, the dams and people’s palaces, the rebirth of Minsk, smashed by war.

“Forget the meat idea,” said my guide Sayed Magomed, a 23-year-old engineering student. “He gets sheep from a farm in eastern Chechnya and slaughters them himself - he doesn’t need anyone to do that for him.” Sayed is still fired with adrenalin after a Saturday morning spent on the latest Grozny craze, paintballing, a more or less harmless postmodern form of partisan warfare: you stalk, you shoot and no one gets killed. It could catch on.

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My Comment: Welcome to the new Russia.

Russia: Warnings Of Another Chechen War

From The Kuwait Times:

Chechen warlord Sulim Yamadayev vowed revenge Sept. 26 for the death of his brother, Ruslan Yamadayev, who was gunned down in Moscow two days earlier. At a small funeral for Ruslan in the town of Gudermes east of the Chechen capital of Grozny, Sulim accused Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov of killing his brother, and said the Yamadayev clan would seek vengeance after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends Sept 30.

The Sept 24 assassination of Ruslan Yamadayev was rooted in the longtime rivalry between two of Chechnya's major factions. In the chaos of the Soviet breakup in 1991, former Chechen President Dzhokar Dudayev seized on the opportunity to declare Chechnya independent while the Russian state remained in disarray. At that time, Dudayev had complete authority over all the Chechen clans, including the Yamadayevs, the Kaydrovs and the Islamist faction led by Shamil Basayev, in the fight against the Russians.

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My Comment: Unrest in the Caucasus will be the normal situation for a very long time. The bitterness and cultural animosities that were bottled up during the Soviet Union era are now being permitted to boil over. Another Chechen conflict is all but certain.