29 March 2004, 16:08
Forcible liquidation of refugee camps in Ingushetia
Today security agencies of the Chechen Republic launched the forcible liquidation of refugee camps in Ingushetia. They are forcibly moving camp inhabitants to Chechnya. According to preliminary information, the camp for displaced persons Sputnik was blocked off by officers of the Chechen security agencies at about 9:00 a.m.
A lot of vehicles, including Kamaz trucks, entered the territory of the camp. The aim of the "special operation" is to liquidate the camp. With all this going on, those displaced persons who have submitted applications that they want to stay on the territory of Ingushetia are expected to be taken to temporary accommodation centers in Chechnya. The camp Satsita has been also blocked off.
The camps are situated on the outskirts of the village of Sleptsovskaya (Ordzhonikidzevskaya), the administrative center of Ingushetia's Sunzha district, near the administrative border with the Chechen Republic.
Earlier, both federal and local officials denied any plans and intentions of applying force to liquidate the camps and return the migrants to Chechnya.
They made such promises not only to media representatives but to human rights defenders of both non-government organizations and the presidential Commission on Human Rights.
Source: Representative Office of the Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Nazran, Ingushetia)
