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Damage assessed after hundreds displaced by Dagestan operation
Clamor from displaced residents has caused Russian authorities to assess damage inflicted by military and security forces during an operation targeting militant suspects in Dagestan. Nearly 1,000 residents of Vremenny, in Dagestan's central Untsukul district, were driven from their homes in September as a result of a large-scale "counterterrorism operation." A commission to assess the damage was recently established after residents addressed letters of protest to President Vladimir Putin and Dagestan's leader, Ramazan Abdulatipov, seeking compensation in order to repair their homes or move elsewhere in Dagestan. The commission was due to start work on November 26 under the leadership of Zapir Akhmedov, deputy head of Untsukul District. Residents said that the troops had isolated the settlement from the outside world, searching houses, taking away local men, damaging homes and infrastucture, and forcing the closure of its only hospital and school. Aliaskhab Magomedov, the head of Gimry, which includes Vremenny, said on November 25 that the assessment would take four days. He said nobody will be allowed to enter Vremenny until every house and every household is fully inspected and damages are assessed. Magomedov said security forces had started to leave Vremenny and their number was estimated to be one tenth of the number in mid-September. He said a military checkpoint near Vremenny will remain in place. Magomedov also said that a mountain road tunnel connecting Gimry to the city of Buinaksk will reopen after the commission finishes its work. Posted by: ryuge 2014-11-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=405119 |