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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Caucasus Corpse Count |
| 2005-09-18 |
| Chechen militants have killed six pro-Moscow police and wounded another nine, local media reported on Saturday in a major blow to Russian forces in the turbulent region. Meanwhile, rebel news sources reported the death of a top separatist in a clash with security forces -- the second prominent commander to be killed this year. Pro-Russian forces said he had died in a power struggle among the guerrillas. Local news agencies said four policemen died in a firefight in the Vedeno region on Friday, in the heart of Muslim Chechnya's mountainous south. Five police were also injured, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Interfax news agency said another two policemen were killed and four more were injured on Friday when their car was fired on in the regional capital Grozny, which has been devastated by a decade of war in which tens of thousands have died. Chechnya sees daily clashes, although large-scale battles are a thing of the past. But it is rare for Russia, which still has more than 100,000 troops in and around the region, to lose so many men in a single day. Chechen rebel Web sites reported that top rebel commander Akhmad Avdorkhanov died in a clash with "occupiers" on Monday. Like former guerrilla leader Aslan Maskhadov, who was killed in March, he represented the moderate wing of the rebels and had opposed the influence of Saudi-leaning Islamists during a period of de facto Chechen independence in 1996-9. "Avdorkhanov was a true Muslim and a patriot and he showed this (by) giving his life in the fight for the freedom and independence of the Chechen people," said a tribute on a rebel site (www.chechenpress.info). Many analysts predicted the Chechen resistance would become radicalised with Maskhadov's death and that the likes of Avdorkhanov would be pushed to the margins by powerful warlord Shamil Basayev, who has ordered most of the war's major attacks on Russian civilians. New rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev denies any split, and there have been no major attacks on civilians for over a year, but top pro-Moscow Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov said Avdorkhanov was killed by Basayev's followers. "Avdorkhanov was an honourable opponent, who I faced in battle more than once. We both suffered losses, but he differed from Basayev in openly opposing (extreme Islam)," Kadyrov told Interfax news agency. "Avdorkhanov was one of the most influential field commanders, distinguished by particular bravery," said Kadyrov, himself a former rebel who often tries to distance himself from the killing of his former comrades-in-arms. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |