On Tuesday Arabia TV news channel demonstrated a video footage showing how people of Ingushetia were welcoming Ingushetian and Chechen troops (Mujahideen), who carried out an armed raid deep inside the rears of the Russian army early morning of June 22 and attacked Russian positions in several cities and villages of Republic of Ingushetia. This report came from ASN News. The video shows how several dozen of Ingushetian people were hugging with armed men in camouflage uniforms, and nobody was surprised or especially indignant about it. Cheers ’God is Great!’ (’Allah Akbar’!) and «Death to Kafirs (infidels)!» were heard on the footage as well. Arabia TV channel did not report where this footage came from. The footage also had the time and date it was filmed: 9:30 – 9:36 PM, June 21, 2004. Presumably, it was filmed in the city of Nazran, but some locals were heard as saying, «Karabulak will be clean!»
| Okay. No infidels in Karabulak, then... |
The video footage showed several dead bodies with Russian police uniforms on. Arabia’s commentator pointed out that the Mujahideen filmed in that footage were all Europeans. They all had blond or light hair and Caucasian appearance. Nevertheless, Russia is still trying to present the situation like some foreign mercenaries were allegedly taking part in this combat operation in Ingushetia. Thus, FSB (KGB) spokesman told journalists that Arabs, Pakistanis, Algerians and Chechens were in these units of Mujahideen.
But these claims that the invaders’ command has been making are not taken seriously. Moreover, locals and Ingushetian journalists reported that most of the fighters were certainly ethnic Ingushetians. Ingushetia.ru edition, whose reporter was in the middle of the events and had contacts with the fighters, says that the backbone of the troops that attacked the invaders’ positions consisted of Ingushetian natives. During the attack on the headquarters of pro-Moscow Ingushetian police (Interior Ministry), Ingushetian troops posted mobile squads in the blocks adjacent to the battle scene. The locals had a chance to talk to some of them. One of the Mujahideen even told that it was them, the Ingushetians, who persuaded Chechen Commander Shamil Basayev to carry out this operation in order to teach a lesson to pro-Russian power structures of Ingushetia, to the Russian police, to the FSB (KGB) and to other secret services guilty of extrajudicial executions and kidnappings in Ingushetia. « when my brother was kidnapped, and I hadn’t been able to find his body or his whereabouts, I went to the mountains to Shamil Basayev. There are hundreds of people like me. And mainly Ingushetians are the ones fighting here», a fighter said.
Russian claims about civilian casualties have never been confirmed either. The locals said that the market’s director was reported dead. He was mistaken for a pro-Moscow police officer, since he had a police holster with a handgun in it. A UN employee was reported killed in crossfire and two unknown men in civilian clothes, who have still not been identified. As far as FSB claims go that a pregnant woman was allegedly shot and an ambulance car allegedly destroyed, these allegations have never been confirmed either and turned out to be an invention by Russian propagandists, just as it was expected. At the same time it looks like the information is being confirmed that some civilians were injured by shattered glass, stray bullets and shrapnel. Tuesday night Russian side released the report that 10 civilians, 47 police officers, invaders’ soldiers and FSB agents were dead and at least 200 people wounded. The Command of Ingushetian Armed Forces reported that 150 to 200 enemy soldiers and policemen were killed and at least 300 wounded. Besides, Ingushetian Armed Forces have issued a strong statement that no civilian facilities or civilians were attacked. |