| Chechen law enforcers, together with federal troops, are conducting a large-scale operation to smoke out separatist rebels in the south of the troubled republic. Two settlements have been blocked off, one of which is thought to host Akhmed Avdorkhanov, the head of security for rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov. However, the troops reportedly have a different task: they have been ordered to capture Maskhadov in time for Putinâs inauguration on May 7, the Kommersant daily writes. Chechnyaâs deputy minister of the interior, Sultan Satuyev, did not confirm those rumors, Kommersant wrote, but underscored that âNo one has given us such a task, but we would be very happy if it happened on such a significant date.â |