MIA veterans consider authorities’ reaction to conflict in Chechen Urus-Martan disproportionate

Five hundred law enforcers sent to Urus-Martan to deal with a minor conflict looks like an overreaction by the authorities of Chechnya, note retired law enforcers Yevgeny Chernousov and Magomed Shamilov. Residents of Urus-Martan will not succumb to the provocative call of Ramzan Kadyrov to fight with seconded security officials, Caucasian expert Ruslan Kutaev believes.

Idris Cherkhigov, the chief of the GIBDD (road police) Department for Chechnya, announced that more than 500 law enforcers were involved in the search for citizens who witnessed a conflict involving a GIBDD inspector. Earlier, Ramzan Kadyrov promised to send to the city all law enforcers to whom residents of Urus-Martan “may complain.”

On December 10, a conflict broke out between local residents and a GIBDD inspector in Urus-Martan. A man slapped the GIBDD inspector, who responded by shooting at the ground. Residents of Urus-Martan became witnesses of the conflict, and Ramzan Kadyrov addressed them. “You have a choice: either to fight with them (the law enforcers), or to be sent to the zone of the special military operation. Prove that you are men,” the leader of Chechnya said.

The authorities of Chechnya have allocated too many forces to resolve the conflict in Urus-Martan, believes Yevgeny Chernousov, retired Colonel of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The raids in Urus-Martan became an attempt by the authorities to “show strength” and prove that any situation should be under the control of the Chechen authorities and the law enforcement bodies, suggests Magomed Shamilov, a former employee of the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Residents of Urus-Martan will not oppose the law enforcers deployed there, Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes. However, according to him, “the protest potential will grow.”