Russia to Transfer Command of Military Operation in Chechnya to Interior Ministry

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Russia to Transfer Command of Military Operation in Chechnya to Interior Ministry

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A high-ranking Russian military official said Monday that the command of Russian troops' military operation in the country's Chechen republic will be transferred from the Federal Security Service (FSB) to the Interior Ministry on Sept. 1.

Chechen military commandant Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Abrashin told the Interfax news agency that one of the deputy interior ministers would be appointed commander of the regional headquarters.

Commandant offices from the Interior Ministry will be set up in15 Chechen districts, he noted.

Two military divisions will remain in Chechnya to provide assistance to Interior Ministry forces.

In January 2001, President Vladimir Putin transferred control of Russian troops in Chechnya from the military to the Federal Security Service.

The current decision was made after an amnesty in the Russia's war-torn republic took effect last Saturday.

The amnesty offers immunity from prosecution to rebels who giveup their weapons by September 1 and also applies to federal troopsin Chechnya, who are suspected of abuses against civilians. But the bill will not be granted to those who have committed grave crimes like murder, kidnapping, rape and assault, as well as foreigners and people without citizenship.

As of noon of Monday about 49 rebels have laid down arms to Chechen authorities, officials said.

Chechen administration chief Akhmad Kadyrov predicted that some200 rebels would surrender arms in the republic.

A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) arrived in Chechnya on Monday for a five-day trip toinvestigate the situation in the region.

The PACE, the continent's top human rights watchdog, did not send its observers to monitor a referendum held in Chechnya on March 23 on a draft constitution and bills on presidential and parliamentary elections there. It also passed a resolution early in April, warning that it will propose the international communityto set up a war crimes tribunal for Chechnya modeled on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, if Moscow fails to take a tougher stance against human rights violations in the republic.

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