12:06, 4 February 2006

A large-scale clean-up in a Chechnya settlement

On February 3, a clean-up ("zachistka") was carried out in the Kotar-Yurt settlement of Achkhoi-Martan district, Chechnya. Two persons were detained in the course of the clean-up.

This was reported by settlement residents. According to them, the "secret operation" in Kotar-Yurt was carried out by the federal armed forces officers.

"Our village was fully blocked from early morning. The entrances and exits were blocked by armour, following which a "large-scale clean-up" was started in the village," says Murad, a 48-year-old resident of Kotar-Yurt. The operation was conducted by Russian army officers, there were no local "power authorities" among them.

"Two of fellow-villagers, Yusupov and Tazbiev, have been detained. The military have taken them away. Their relatives are now trying to find out their location," says a Chechen resident.

Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent