Kadyrov Death Creates Power Vacuum in Chechnya :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Kadyrov Death Creates Power Vacuum in Chechnya

Posted by admin on Monday, May 10, 2004 - 02:32 AM

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners headed for the funeral of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, whose murder by separatists has left a power vacuum in the rebel province which is fighting Moscow's rule.
The 52-year-old former Muslim cleric, Moscow's recent hope in mostly Muslim Chechnya but a turncoat for Chechen rebels, was assassinated on Sunday when a bomb exploded at a ceremony in the capital Grozny to celebrate the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. Among the six others who died were a Reuters reporter, an eight-year-old girl, a close aide of Kadyrov and two bodyguards. More than 50 people were wounded, including the commander of Russian forces in the region, General Valery Baranov. Mourners flooded heavily guarded roads to Tsentoroi, the base of Kadyrov's clan 30 miles southeast of Grozny, Russian media said. Interfax news agency said police posts were deployed every 100 yards along the 125-mile long highway crossing Chechnya from east to west to provide security for arriving guests from neighboring provinces. Funeral ceremonies are expected to last three days. "Kadyrov's death has left a political vacuum in Chechnya," Russian parliamentary deputy Ramazan Abdulatipov, who in 1999 negotiated the defection of Kadyrov to the Kremlin camp, told Ekho Moskvy radio. "It turns out that there is no one to pick up his banner." In October 1999 Vladimir Putin, a prime minister soon to become Russian president, sent troops to end the effective independence won by Chechnya in a 1994-1996 war with Russia. "There was a need for a new Chechen leader," Abdulatipov said. "It was clear the region would not accept a leader fully loyal to Moscow from the start and Kadyrov was the ideal choice." Continued ...

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