 GUDERMES: Fifty men who fought Russian rule in Chechnya said on Tuesday they were downing their weapons under an amnesty and urged remaining fighters to halt their 12-year separatist insurgency. | “'We are ready to return to a normal life,' Razvan Alkhastov told journalists...” |
The Kremlin says it has restored central authority in Chechnya, with life and industry returning to normal - despite nearly daily attacks on its servicemen in and around the region. The 50 men were presented in Gudermes, Chechnya's second largest town, with pro-Moscow Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov looking on and a cache of weapons displayed nearby. The men, all in civilian clothes and well groomed, appeared relaxed and swapped stories with Kadyrov and other officials. "We are ready to return to a normal life," Razvan Alkhastov, in his mid-30s, told journalists in the building's courtyard. "I'm tired of being on the run," echoed Saikhan Asambiyev, also in his 30s. "I will tell others to stop fighting." |