24 June 2005, 16:24
Tension on the rise over Borozdinovskaia
Weapons are seized from servicemen of the Vostok ("East") battalion who are accused of having conducted a "clean-up" in Borozdinovskaia, Shelkovskaia district, on 4 June. The weapons will undergo a ballistic examination to find out if the bullets found at the scene were shot using them, a source with Chechnya's law enforcement agencies told Caucasian Knot.
Vostok commander Sulim Yamadayev rejects any direct or indirect accusations against his subordinates concerning raids in Borozdinovskaia.
The Main Military Prosecutor's Office that controls the investigation of the "clean-up" in Borozdinovskaia cannot name those responsible for the incident as yet.
A source of Caucasian Knot with the Main Intelligence Department of the Russian Army's General Staff said Vostok was not part of the Department as is believed. He added, "There are so many various armed units in Chechnya currently that it is simply impossible to manage them. For example, Ramzan Kadyrov's gangs - there is no other word for them - do not obey anyone at all except Ramzan. Neither Khankala (the federal base) or Grozny (Chechnya's military prosecutor's office) can order them."
The number of Borozdinovskaia residents in the camp one kilometre northwest of Kizliar, Dagestan, is currently 1,144, including 327 children, the press service of the South Regional Centre of the Russian Civil Defence and Emergencies Ministry told Interfax earlier today.
However, Natalia Zinkovskaia, the newly-appointed head of administration in Borozdinovskaia, says the number of villagers in the camp is just about 500 and she does not know who the rest are. At the same time she complains authorities have actually done nothing to investigate the incident on 4 June.
Borozdinovskaia residents say they are not going back to their village until they have "at least the bones" of their relatives and until the names of the criminals and their superiors are given.
