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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Senior Chechen commander from the first war surrenders |
| 2005-11-24 |
| Russian media has reported the surrender of a Chechen rebel commander described as prominent, days before Kremlin-organized local parliamentary elections are held in Chechnya, but sources in the rebel republic said the commander had long stopped fighting. 'One of the most influential among rebel leaders, Khizir Khachukayev, today in the Chechen republic voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities to benefit from an amnesty,' state-controled Channel One television said. It then proceeded to show Khachukayev, in front of Moscow's television tower, laboriously reading a prepared statement announcing the dismemberment of his combat unit. However, sources in Chechnya told Agence France-Presse that while Khachukayev had been active on the rebel side in the first, 1994-1996 Chechen war, he had taken no part in the second conflict, which has been going on since October 1999. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |