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| Caucasus |
| Caucasus Corpse Count |
| 2004-06-10 |
| Three guerilla units have been eliminated in Chechnya over the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the regional headquarters for the antiterrorist operation in the North Caucasus, Col. Ilya Shabalkin, told Interfax on Tuesday. "In all, eight rebels have been killed and eight Kalashnikov assault rifles and other ammunition and weapons were seized in the course of three special operations over the past twenty-four hours," Shabalkin said. A gang spotted near the community of Benoi in Shatoi district "was planning to commit an act of sabotage and terrorism in the near future," Shabalkin said. A homemade explosive device was found with the guerillas, he said. Several rebels from that unit were killed and others ran away, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, seven guerillas voluntarily laid down their arms in Chechnya, the chief of staff of the Chechen presidential security service, Artur Akhmadov, told Interfax on Tuesday. "After first deputy prime minister and chief of the presidential security service Ramzan Kadyrov demanded in yesterday’s televised address that the rebels lay down their arms, seven people declared that they wanted to surrender their arms and return to a peaceful life," Akhmadov said. He said a bodyguard of separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was among those who surrendered. He declined to name the man’s name "until legal formalities related to the registration of the voluntary surrender are completed." Akhmadov also that said six guerillas surrendered on Monday. Negotiations are being held with rebels through their relatives and others to compel them to cease their unlawful activities, he said. Akhmadov rejected allegations that the number of operations against guerillas and their effectiveness has been decreasing of late. "We have not stopped targeted operations for a single day, and people linked to unlawful armed units have been detained every day, in fact," Akhmadov said. At the same time, he pointed out that Ramzan Kadyrov called on the rebels to lay down their arms over the next three days. "They have a real opportunity to do this without fearing for their lives. After this, we of course will conduct search operations in a much tougher way and will not let the bandit formations terrorize the people," he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Chechen Prosecutor Alexander Nikitin told Interfax on Tuesday that the Chechen prosecution service will accept the surrender of guerillas even after the three days mentioned by Kadyrov. "We abide by the law. Nobody has invalidated the Criminal Code provisions mitigating liability in certain cases," Nikitin said. He noted that comments attached to a number of Criminal Code articles provide for the possibility of freeing a person from criminal liability if he "effectively repents" for his past deeds. Chechen Prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko told Interfax that voluntary surrenders in Chechnya continue to occur. "During the amnesty period, 209 people were amnestied. This figure is much higher now and is growing day to day," he said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |