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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Chechens deny cops are defecting to join Basayev |
| 2006-03-26 |
| The Chechen Interior Ministry has categorically denied reports by a number of media outlets alleging that dozens of local police officers have defected to illegal armed units. "An analysis of these reports shows that certain media outlets inspired have in fact launched a provocative ideological campaign against Chechnya's law enforcement agencies," Chechen Interior Ministry press secretary Ruslan Atsayev told Interfax on Saturday. "Not a single instance of treachery by Chechen law enforcement officers, not a single instance of defection to illegal armed groups has been recorded in the past year," Atsayev said. During the past week a number of media outlets have published "fictional reports claiming that over forty armed policemen defected to militant groups in the Vedeno district," he said. "We would like to know the names of these people, as the entire personnel of the Vedeno district police department are accounted for and are performing their duties," Atsayev said. "Speculation that an operation in the mountains was designed to catch the deserters are also unfounded," he said. "This operation is preventative in nature and is designed to uncover militant bases, hideouts and weapons caches an the operatives engaged in the operation are looking for Basayev, Umarov, Khalilov and other leaders of militant groups," Atsayev said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |