Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Russia razes site of Maskhadov's killing
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2005-03-15 10:29

    Russian authorities said Monday they blew up the house where Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed last week because they feared booby traps, but critics questioned the motive.

    Col.-Gen. Arkady Yedelev, chief of the federal headquarters for the campaign in Chechnya, said demolition experts inspecting the bunker had discovered and detonated a box that contained documents and was ridden with explosives.

    A general view of what is left of the house, where rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed last week in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in the northern sector of Chechnya (news - web sites), Monday, March 14, 2005. Authorities have blown up the house where rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed last week in a special operation, witnesses and officials said Monday. It was unclear whether the explosion Sunday was meant as punishment for the family that allegedly gave him shelter, a safety precaution or an attempt to cover up sensitive evidence. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)
    A general view of what is left of the house, where rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed last week in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in the northern sector of Chechnya
    , Monday, March 14, 2005. Authorities have blown up the house where rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed last week in a special operation, witnesses and officials said Monday.[AP]
    "The team of investigators decided to blow up the entire house to avoid such surprises in the future," Yedelev said in a statement.

    Rights activists and government critics, however, suggested the blast could have been meant as punishment for the family that allegedly sheltered the rebel leader or an attempt to cover up sensitive evidence.

    Russian authorities said Maskhadov, 53, was killed during an operation by its forces last Tuesday in a basement bunker where he had been hiding, although accounts of how he died have varied.

    Yakha Yusupova, who lived in the house with her family, denied the rebel leader had been there and said she suspected Russian forces may have brought him on Tuesday.

    Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent Russian columnist and an expert on Chechnya, said the destruction of the house apparently was intended to destroy any evidence that could cast doubt on official accounts of the killing.

    "There is nothing left now to question the official version of events," Politkovskaya said in an interview.

    Alexander Petrov of Human Rights Watch's Moscow office said federal authorities in the past had blown up houses in Chechnya that belonged to militants who participated in terror attacks. The practice has drawn strong criticism from international rights groups, he said.

    "If the authorities blew up the house to punish the house owners, it's a bad move," Petrov said.

    Meanwhile, Russian human rights activists joined Maskhadov's family in calling on authorities to return his body for burial.

    "Refusing to hand over the body to the relatives of the deceased is a shame," representatives of three groups said in a statement cited by the Interfax news agency.

    They also criticized security services for killing Maskhadov instead of capturing him.

    "Considering the technical equipment special forces have, Maskhadov could have been captured alive and could have stood trial," they said.

    Maskhadov led the separatist forces in Chechnya that fought the Russian army to standstill in 1996, then was elected president of the republic when the Russians withdrew.

    The Kremlin consistently blamed Maskhadov for involvement in terrorist attacks, such as the Beslan school siege in September in which more than 330 people died, half of them children, and a hostage seizure at a Moscow theater in 2002 that killed 129 people. Maskhadov denied any involvement.

    His death leaves the separatist insurgency largely in the hands of Shamil Basayev.

    Also Monday, militants fired grenades at a military commandant's office in the Chechen capital, Grozny, wounding eight, said Sergei Kozhemyaka, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry.

    The Interfax-Military News Agency cited unnamed Chechen law enforcement officials as saying the shooting resulted from careless handling of a grenade-launcher by a Russian serviceman. Twelve servicemen, one policeman, and two civilians were injured, it said.

    The varying accounts of the incident underlined the fractious nature of law enforcement in Chechnya, where responsibility — and blame — is divided among numerous, often rival Chechen and federal agencies.

    In neighboring Dagestan on Monday, authorities killed two militants and captured two others who had holed up in a house in the village of Nuradilovo, the regional Interior Ministry said. The 7-year-old daughter of the house's owner was killed and two officers were wounded, the ministry said.

    Federal forces and police fought with two militants in another private house, in the city of Khasavyurt, Dagestani Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Musayev said.

    Flames and smoke poured from the house after a heavy exchange of fire, and Interfax reported the militants tried to escape. Late at night, Musayev said the operation was continuing, and it was unclear whether the militants had been killed, escaped or were still in the house.

    Russian forces pulled out of Chechnya after a 20-month war in 1994-1996. They returned in September 1999 after Chechnya-based rebels raided a neighboring province and after a series of apartment building explosions blamed on the militants.



     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    National People's Congress enacts historic law for peace

     

       
     

    Anti-Secession Law adopted by NPC (full text)

     

       
     

    Olympic torch expected to run through Taiwan

     

       
     

    Wen addresses press conference (full text)

     

       
     

    German gets compensated for fake paintings

     

       
     

    Tighter rein on law enforcement demanded

     

       
      Kurds, Shiites push ahead on Iraq government
       
      Israel agrees to start delayed West Bank pullback
       
      Former US president Clinton leaves hospital
       
      Saudi urges 2% rise in oil output
       
      Iran says may set deadline for nuclear talks
       
      Opposition launches protest in Beirut
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      Related Stories  
       
    Chechen rebel says Russia has lost control
       
    Chechen leader says peace talks "inevitable"
      News Talk  
      Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
    Advertisement
             
    日本久久久精品中文字幕| 岛国av无码免费无禁网| av无码一区二区三区| 亚洲第一中文字幕| 国产精品无码免费播放| 亚洲av无码一区二区三区乱子伦| 日本aⅴ精品中文字幕| 人妻一区二区三区无码精品一区| 亚洲av成人无码久久精品| 精品中文高清欧美| 亚洲精品无码鲁网中文电影| 69天堂人成无码麻豆免费视频 | 永久免费av无码网站yy| 久久精品中文无码资源站| 久久综合一区二区无码| 无码aⅴ精品一区二区三区浪潮| 日韩av无码免费播放 | 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕| 国产成人无码免费看片软件 | 中文字幕毛片| 超碰97国产欧美中文| 日韩精品中文字幕无码一区| 免费无码一区二区| 国产午夜无码片免费| 丰满熟妇人妻Av无码区| 精品无码人妻一区二区三区| 免费A级毛片无码专区| 免费无码成人AV在线播放不卡| 无码aⅴ精品一区二区三区浪潮 | 久久久久久久久无码精品亚洲日韩 | 亚洲国产午夜中文字幕精品黄网站| 亚洲中文字幕在线第六区| 无码日韩人妻AV一区二区三区| 久久国产精品无码网站| 无码 免费 国产在线观看91| 亚洲AV无码一区二区一二区| 中文资源在线官网| 无码中文字幕日韩专区视频| 亚洲伦另类中文字幕| 中文字幕在线观看国产| 国产亚洲大尺度无码无码专线|