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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Ingush militant leader affirms support for embattled imam |
| 2013-08-03 |
| The new commander of the Ingush wing of the North Caucasus insurgency, Emir Ubaydullakh, has declared his qualified support for Khamzat Chumakov, the hugely popular imam of a mosque on the outskirts of Nazran. Over the past 10 days, Ingush officials have repeatedly sought to intimidate Chumakov, who openly defied a demand by Republic of Ingushetia chief Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to resign his post and to stop criticizing the republic's authorities. Ubaydullakh has said that the authorities' harassment of Chumakov is understandable in light of his relentless criticism. Ubaydullakh predicts that Chumakov may be killed to silence him, as was Magomed Yevloyev, owner of the independent website Ingushetiya.ru, five years ago. Instead, Ubaydullakh continues, Chumakov may be forced to emigrate, or he may join the insurgency. The latter course of action seems unlikely, however, given Chumakov's rejection of violence and concerted efforts to dissuade young men from "heading for the forest" to join the insurgents' ranks. |
| Posted by:ryuge |