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| Caucasus |
| Gelayev still alive, likely severely wounded |
| 2004-01-17 |
| Preliminary reports indicate that prominent Chechen rebel leader Ruslan Gelayev may have been severely wounded in clashes with border guards, policemen and commandos in Dagestan’s Tsunti district at the end of December. "This conclusion was made based on information from several sources," Interfax was told at the Interior Ministry department for the North Caucasus on Friday. "This conclusion was prompted by the testimony of five detained rebels who said that they had not seen Gelayev on his feet during the last days of fighting," the source said. Gelayev was carried through the mountains of Dagestan on a stretcher, the source quoted the detained rebels as saying. Comparing specific attempts made to eradicate Gelayev’s rebel group and the testimony of the detained rebels, the source concluded that Gelayev was likely wounded when his hiding place was shelled on December 24-26, and not in open combat. "Considering the duration of the special operation, the gravity of the wound and the lack of medical assistance the rebels possessed, Gelayev’s wound could have been fatal and his body may have been disposed of," the source said. "The assumption is supported by the fact that most of the rebels were foreign mercenaries who stick to the principle of each man for himself, and thus they would not have gone to the trouble of caring for a severely wounded man," the source said. He said that the search for bodies of rebels killed in combat is continuing but has been hindered by heavy snowfalls and poor visibility. Dagestani Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Omarov also commented on the matter at a news conference in Makhachkala on Thursday. He had just returned from a visit to the Tsunti district where he led a ministry team examining the bodies of rebels killed in a gorge near Mikali. "The bodies of eleven rebels were discovered in the gorge. They had been killed by federal troops in artillery and air attacks. Ruslan Gelayev’s body was not among them," he said. Deputy Prosecutor General for the southern federal district Sergei Fridinsky told an earlier news conference in Rostov-on-Don that based on what the detained rebels said during interrogation, Gelayev had been the leader of the group. Fridinsky said almost all of the rebels who had entered Dagestan were killed. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 "most of the rebels were foreign mercenaries who stick to the principle of each man for himself, and thus they would not have gone to the trouble of caring for a severely wounded man" Tell me again about the Muslim Brotherhood™? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-1-17 11:37:43 AM |