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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Caucasus Corpse Count |
| 2005-07-05 |
| Rebels killed a policeman and a soldier in Chechnya's lawless south when they ambushed a Russian convoy sent to investigate the killing of a village mayor, police said on Tuesday. In further proof of the continuing chaos in the Russian region, 1,000 Chechens gathered in Grozny to protest against the seizure by armed men of the chief of their village -- the latest in a string of kidnappings. "These were bandits who killed our people, and now we are hunting them," a police spokesman said. He said the convoy of police and soldiers had been travelling to Burgaloi village on Monday to investigate the murder of mayor Abdul-Azim Yangulbayev, when they fell into an ambush. "A policeman and a serviceman were killed at the scene. One other policeman was seriously injured," he said. The chaos in Chechnya is largely hidden from outside view, but residents of the village of Serzhen-Yurt, which lies on the road that links Grozny to the badlands of the mountainous south, converged on the capital to demand the release of their mayor. Residents said Shakhid Shamayev was seized by pro-Moscow Chechen forces -- who are blamed by rights groups for mass kidnappings -- on Saturday. Witnesses said 1,000 protesters had gathered at the government building in the capital Grozny -- an unusually large protest for Chechnya. "We all know Shakhid as a very good man, and what they are saying about him, that he helped the rebels, it is not true," said Usrail, 38, a religious leader from the village. "We will stand here until we know where and in what conditions he is being held," he said by telephone. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |