Gas and water supply to accommodation centers for refugees cut off with view of safety, Ingush authorities say

The first attempts to cut off the supply of gas and water to places of Chechen refugees' compact residence on the territory of Ingushetia are being made. The official version is non-observance of safety standards. Refugees believe they are simply being forced to leave Ingushetia by the deliberate worsening of their living conditions. Representatives of the Vodonadzor city service visited the temporary accommodation center for displaced persons from Chechnya "Kristall", which is in Nazran, on February 18. The workers tried to cut off the water pipe leading to the camp, asserting it was constructed "not in conformity with safety standards." They replied to indignant exclamations of center inhabitants that their actions were sanctioned by the city mayor's office.

"First they made us leave tent camps in such a way, now they are doing the same things here, but with the only difference that we have choice no longer," say refugees.

"We have nothing against the refugees themselves, we just press that their living here be safer," Vice Mayor of Nazran Boris Shadizhev said in a telephone interview with the Caucasian Knot correspondent. "Numerous violations of safety standards made during the construction of communication lines have been revealed by planned checks of places of refugees' temporary accommodation in Nazran. They must be eliminated, and we inform owners of these centers and wardens about it. Otherwise we have to take extreme measures, right up to disconnections.

Practically the same situation has arisen in some other places of Chechen refugees' temporary accommodation in Nazran.

Editors note: See also the articles "Temporary accommodation center for refugees "Angusht" left without gas", "Water supply to Satsita camp of Chechen refugees cut off because of technical reasons".