Kadyrov blames Dagestani militants for attacks on his republic
In the 1999 raid on Dagestan, first of all, Dagestani militants took part, while in Chechnya this military operation was condemned, Ramzan Kadyrov has stated, calling the thesis "Chechen terrorists attacked Dagestan" false.
On August 7, 1999, militant units led by Basaev and Khattab invaded Dagestan from Chechnya and captured dwelling settlements in the Botlikh and Tsumadin Districts. At first, local policemen and militias opposed the invaders. On August 24, federal forces ousted militants to Chechnya.
During 1.5 months of fighting, 275 Russian military servicemen were killed, and 937 others were wounded. Militants' losses made about 2500 people.
Kadyrov has pointed out that invaders included a 1200-strong detachment of the "Islamic Army of the Caucasus" of Bagautdin Kebedov, a Dagestani ideologist of Wahhabism, and the "Dagestani Imam's Rebel Army" under the command of a Dagestani Magomed Tagaev.
He has also noted that from the very beginning, this "adventure" was condemned in Chechnya.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 7, 2019 at 04:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.