19:36, 19 August 2024

War experts and rights defenders assess chances of Chechen POWs from "Akhmat" to return home

Uniform chevron of the fighters of the "Akhmat-Chechnya" unit. Photo from the Telegram channel Kadyrov_95

Russian authorities will try to exchange the fighters of the "Akhmat-Chechnya" unit captured in the Kursk Region, experts have suggested. Once returned, fighters will have to apologize and go back to the frontline, human rights defenders believe.

In the Kursk Region, three signalmen and two riflemen of the "Akhmat-Chechnya" unit were taken prisoner of war (POWs), Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the "Akhmat" special unit, has stated, stressing that those captured were "not Kadyrov men", fighters of the "Akhmat-Chechnya" unit, but of the "Akhmat" special purpose unit; he has added that for a Chechen there is nothing more shameful than captivity. The "Akhmat-Chechnya" unit consists of natives of Chechnya, who are not ready for combat actions and are engaged in maintaining law and order.

According to Alaudinov, after return, the Chechen POWs will be sent back to the special military operation (SMO) zone.

The words of Chechen leaders that the captured fighters are no longer "Kadyrov men" mean that the captured Chechens have problems, a Chechen human rights defender believes. He did not rule out that if exchanged, they will have to apologize after returning to Chechnya.

Alaudinov's words that "for a Chechen there is nothing more shameful than being captured" mean that they already have big problems, Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, believes.

"First they will be brought home, forced to apologize for being taken POWs and not died. Then, they will be sent back to the SMO zone," she said.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 16, 2024 at 06:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Roman Kuzhev

Source: СK correspondent