13:50, 2 April 2004

Large-scale purges in Chechen villages

Federal security agencies together with Moscow-backed Chechen armed units are conducting large-scale purges in the villages of Sernovodskaya and Assinovskaya in the Sunzha district of the Chechen Republic. They are massively detaining people and running passport checks, officers of security agencies and armored vehicles blocking the population. The purges in Sernovodskaya started on March 27 and are still underway. The operation in Assinovskaya started on March 31.

There is preliminary information about some 30 people, most of whom were youths at the age from 14, detained by the military in the first days of the purges. Most of the detainees have been released due to the active interference of local administration head Vakha Arsamakov.

Many of those who have undergone the procedure of "filtration" are severely beaten.

Source: Infromation Center of the Council of NGOs