Chechen President Killed in Stadium Blast
Sunday, May 09, 2004
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov (search) died of his injuries after an explosion during Victory Day celebrations in Grozny, Russian President Vladimir Putin (search) announced Sunday.
The blast, which killed at least four and injured dozens, was caused by a land mine apparently planted under the VIP section in the Dynamo stadium.
Several suspects have been taken into custody, Fox News has learned.
Confusion clouded the aftermath of Sunday's attack in the Chechen capital, with reports on the fate of Kadyrov and the number of casualties varying widely.
Col. Gen. Valery Baranov (search), commander of Russian troops in the region, died at the scene, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Kadyrov died about 30 minutes after the blast.
The explosion happened underneath a VIP-seating area during a Victory Day (search) ceremony celebrating the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.
Akhmad Dzherikhanov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations southern Russian division, said four people were killed and 46 wounded.
The blast underscored the major security problems in Chechnya even as the Kremlin says normalcy is being restored after nearly five years of fighting against separatist rebels.
Nearly every day Russian soldiers are reported killed in attacks by rebels and by rebel-set explosions.
Grozny, the war-ruined Chechen capital, has a huge presence of Russian forces, but they have not been able to purge insurgents from the city.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but suspicion inevitably fell on the rebels.
"Justice will take the upper hand and retribution is inevitable," Putin said at the conclusion of Moscow's Victory Day parade on Red Square, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
The stadium's VIP section collapsed into a jagged hole of torn wooden planks, sending up a plume of brown smoke. Panicked people dressed in their Sunday best clambered over the bleachers and shots split the air amid the chaos.
Footage on Russia's NTV television showed men in uniform dragging a man resembling Kadyrov covered in blood away from the broken seating area.
Another emergency ministry spokesman, Sergei Kozhemyaka, said that a second land mine was found near the VIP seats. Russia's Echo of Moscow radio reported that numerous people were detained.
Russia marks the Allied victory over the Nazis every May 9 with military parades and fireworks around the country.
Security was extremely tight. In 2002, a bomb exploded during a Victory Day military parade in the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiisk, killing 43 people, including 12 children.
Russian troops have been fighting Chechen insurgents for much of the last decade. The latest war began in September 1999. Despite superior numbers and firepower, Russian troops have been unable to uproot the rebels from their mountainous hideouts or banish them entirely from Grozny.
Kadyrov was a rebel commander during the separatists' 1994-96 war that ended with Russian forces withdrawing. However, he became disenchanted during the period of Chechnya's de-facto independence, complaining of the growing influence of the Wahhabi sect of Islam in the republic.
He broke with Aslan Maskhadov (search), who had been elected Chechen president in 1997, and in 2000 the Kremlin appointed him the republic's top civilian administrator. He was elected president last October in a vote widely criticized as fraudulent.
The election was portrayed by the Kremlin as a substantial step forward for restoring order to Chechnya.
Refugees who have returned to Chechnya say that Kadyrov's administration has withheld promised compensation for six months or more and many Chechens complain of seizures of civilians under his administration.
Kadyrov's son Ramzan runs a security force that is widely blamed for civilian disappearances.
It was not immediately clear who would lead Chechnya after Kadyrov. The Interfax news agency cited Russian Parliament deputy speaker Lyubov Sliska as suggesting that direct presidential rule be imposed by Moscow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_frien...119394,00.html
Sunday, May 09, 2004
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov (search) died of his injuries after an explosion during Victory Day celebrations in Grozny, Russian President Vladimir Putin (search) announced Sunday.
The blast, which killed at least four and injured dozens, was caused by a land mine apparently planted under the VIP section in the Dynamo stadium.
Several suspects have been taken into custody, Fox News has learned.
Confusion clouded the aftermath of Sunday's attack in the Chechen capital, with reports on the fate of Kadyrov and the number of casualties varying widely.
Col. Gen. Valery Baranov (search), commander of Russian troops in the region, died at the scene, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Kadyrov died about 30 minutes after the blast.
The explosion happened underneath a VIP-seating area during a Victory Day (search) ceremony celebrating the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.
Akhmad Dzherikhanov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations southern Russian division, said four people were killed and 46 wounded.
The blast underscored the major security problems in Chechnya even as the Kremlin says normalcy is being restored after nearly five years of fighting against separatist rebels.
Nearly every day Russian soldiers are reported killed in attacks by rebels and by rebel-set explosions.
Grozny, the war-ruined Chechen capital, has a huge presence of Russian forces, but they have not been able to purge insurgents from the city.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but suspicion inevitably fell on the rebels.
"Justice will take the upper hand and retribution is inevitable," Putin said at the conclusion of Moscow's Victory Day parade on Red Square, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
The stadium's VIP section collapsed into a jagged hole of torn wooden planks, sending up a plume of brown smoke. Panicked people dressed in their Sunday best clambered over the bleachers and shots split the air amid the chaos.
Footage on Russia's NTV television showed men in uniform dragging a man resembling Kadyrov covered in blood away from the broken seating area.
Another emergency ministry spokesman, Sergei Kozhemyaka, said that a second land mine was found near the VIP seats. Russia's Echo of Moscow radio reported that numerous people were detained.
Russia marks the Allied victory over the Nazis every May 9 with military parades and fireworks around the country.
Security was extremely tight. In 2002, a bomb exploded during a Victory Day military parade in the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiisk, killing 43 people, including 12 children.
Russian troops have been fighting Chechen insurgents for much of the last decade. The latest war began in September 1999. Despite superior numbers and firepower, Russian troops have been unable to uproot the rebels from their mountainous hideouts or banish them entirely from Grozny.
Kadyrov was a rebel commander during the separatists' 1994-96 war that ended with Russian forces withdrawing. However, he became disenchanted during the period of Chechnya's de-facto independence, complaining of the growing influence of the Wahhabi sect of Islam in the republic.
He broke with Aslan Maskhadov (search), who had been elected Chechen president in 1997, and in 2000 the Kremlin appointed him the republic's top civilian administrator. He was elected president last October in a vote widely criticized as fraudulent.
The election was portrayed by the Kremlin as a substantial step forward for restoring order to Chechnya.
Refugees who have returned to Chechnya say that Kadyrov's administration has withheld promised compensation for six months or more and many Chechens complain of seizures of civilians under his administration.
Kadyrov's son Ramzan runs a security force that is widely blamed for civilian disappearances.
It was not immediately clear who would lead Chechnya after Kadyrov. The Interfax news agency cited Russian Parliament deputy speaker Lyubov Sliska as suggesting that direct presidential rule be imposed by Moscow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_frien...119394,00.html
Comment