22:13, 22 December 2006

Murdered peaceful Chechnya residents could have been taken for militants

An officer from the Chechnya military kommandatura (commandants' office) thinks that a mere mistake could be the most probable cause of the incident in the Achkhoj-Martan District that resulted in death of two peaceful residents. "Most likely, the helicopter pilots took them (the residents of the Achkhoj-Martan District) for militants," the officer declared.

In the opinion of local residents, the militaries guilty of the two casualties in the Achkhoj-Martan District of Chechnya will suffer no punishment.

At night on November 20, in the Achkhoj-Martan District of Chechnya, in the woodland in the vicinity of the Chozhi-Chu village, a helicopter of the Federal Troops swept a group of locals who were cutting the metal structures of a deserted oil well. As a result of an air attack, two out of five residents were killed and one heavily wounded. The military prosecutor's office of the federal grouping in Chechnya is investigating into the circumstances of the accident.