Russia says Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed today in a gun battle with federal forces in the Chechen village of Tolstoi-Yurt
Published:
8 March 2005 y., Tuesday
Russia says Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed today in a gun battle with federal forces in the Chechen village of Tolstoi-Yurt. If confirmed, the action removes a man Moscow considered a terrorist but who was seen by mainstream Chechens as a moderate independence leader.
The details of what Moscow is calling a "special operation" targeting Maskhadov remain unclear.
RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Musa Khasanov filed this report from the Chechen capital Grozny: "Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov was found [during a security operation] in a bunker built under a private house. As a result of an exchange of fire, Maskhadov was killed and his body has been identified, according to [a Russian Interior Ministry spokesman]."
Three of Maskhadov's associates also were reported detained.
Aslan Doukaev is the head of RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service and a close observer of the Chechen conflict. He says the killing of Maskhadov, if confirmed, removes one of the few Chechen leaders with an air of legitimacy -- both within mainstream Chechen society and abroad.
"Maskhadov was elected Chechnya's president in 1997 in internationally observed elections by a landslide vote. So he had an aura of legitimacy about him. He was considered to be a moderate among Chechen leaders and, in an interview with RFE/RL late last week, in what I suppose was his last interview with the media, he said he was against violence and for solving the differences with the Russian leadership through talks."
Šaltinis:
RFE/RL
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
From Luis Figo to David Villa footballers are urging people to vote in the European elections this week.
more »
To celebrate European Neighbours Day, a new photo exhibition entitled Images from Slovenia and Ireland went on display this week at the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
more »
This is a tarsier monkey. It's one of the smallest on earth and is only found in South East Asia.
But now the tarsier is the brink of extinction in Indonesia's Sulawesi Island.
more »
On 31 May, three new TV spots will be shown on over 100 TV channels across Europe for one month and repeated during the month of September.
more »
Haizhu Bridge in China's southern city of Guangzhou has become a popular venue for those attempting suicide. Chen Fuchao was at least the 12th person since last month threatening to jump.
more »
Crowds gathered outside California's Supreme Court as it upheld a controversial ban on gay marriage, known as Proposition 8.
more »
Hundreds of demonstrators stripped off to protest against Spain's second biggest mass spectacle after soccer.
more »
70-year-old Ruddha shows off her wounds, her crime - being a witch...
more »
Police are intensifying their search for a 13-year old boy with cancer and his mother from Minnesota.
more »
One fifth of Europe’s reptiles and nearly a quarter of its amphibians are threatened, according to new studies commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by IUCN.
more »