| In a rare videotape address, Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev vowed to continue the separatist fight but said insurgents would not strike outside of Russia. Basayev’s address was received Friday by Arab television station Al-Jazeera in Qatar and broadcast over the weekend, the head of the station’s Moscow bureau, Akram Khazam, told Ekho Moskvy radio on Saturday. Basayev, shown wearing a military-style cap over his shaved head and with his trademark long, black beard, said that rebels will not target any Russians outside of the country, even those responsible for "slaughtering" Chechens, Ekho Moskvy reported. It was the first public appearance in two years by Basayev, who commands more authority than any other rebel leader, according to Ekho Moskvy. The new pledge contradicted Basayev’s warning in a letter on a Web site in March that Russians outside of the country would be attacked to avenge the killing of Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in a car bombing in Qatar. Khazam told Russia’s Interfax news agency that the station did not communicate with Basayev directly and did not know where the videotape was made. Chechen rebel leaders typically make pronouncements through letters or interviews published on a rebel Web site and the appearance of the videotape was relatively unusual. |