Russia's 'stooge' accuses army over Chechnya

Russian soldiers savagely assaulted Chechens and stole from their schools and hospitals, which they then destroyed, Moscow's chief administrator in the region said yesterday.

Akhmad Kadyrov, regarded by many Chechens as a Russian stooge, accused the military of "criminal conduct" in a sweep through three villages in western Chechnya last week.

Mr Kadyrov, who has demanded the operation's commanders be punished, chaired a meeting in the regional capital, Grozny, to discuss the operation. Among those present was Russia's most senior officer in Chechnya.

Human rights groups said that Russian soldiers rounded up all the men in the villages, releasing only those who could pay bribes of $8 to $40 (£5.50 to £27) each. One man died from liver failure after being kicked. Many have disappeared.

"Schools and hospitals were absolutely plundered during the so-called mopping operations," Mr Kadyrov said. "Not a single bandit was detained, not a single rifle was confiscated and no explosive substances were discovered." He said soldiers threw grenades into classrooms and basements in the villages of Kurchaloi, Assinovskaya and Sernovodsk, even stealing $2,000 intended for teachers' pay.

The systematic ransacking started in Sernovodsk on 3 July, said Lipkhan Bazaeva, of the human rights organisation Memorial. "They took 800 men aged between 14 and 60 out of the village and made them stand in a field. They used electricity and dogs on people and beat everybody."

Many villagers braved minefields to escape across the border to Ingushetia.

Although the Russian army in Chechnya is notorious for its corruption and brutality, it has not previously arrested the entire male population of villages. The ostensible reason for the operation was the killing of five Russian policemen by Chechen rebels a day earlier.