"Yug" special fighters from Chechnya are ready to volunteer to South Ossetia

200 servicemen of the special purpose battalion of the Interior Troops of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs named "Yug" (South) and deployed in Chechnya have expressed their readiness to volunteer to the war in South Ossetia, as one of battalion officers asserts.

The source said that the fighters' readiness to go to South Ossetia as volunteers was expressed back on August 9, when there were fierce fights around Tskhinvali.

"On Saturday, there was a general line-up, and the battalion commander asked if there were any volunteers wishing to go to South Ossetia to take service in the peacekeeping contingent. 200 soldiers stepped out," the officer said.

"As far as I know, the 'Sever' (North, a similar battalion) also has plenty of fighters ready any moment to go to any 'hot point'. In fact, this is our profession - to defend Motherland," he has declared. "If we get an order from above, we'll immediately move out to Ossetia or Abkhazia, anywhere."

The "Sever" battalion is over 700 militaries strong, the "Yug" one has 600 fighters. The disposition of the latter is the district centre of Vedeno in the south of Chechnya. The basic manpower of these subdivisions is made up of former employees of the Security Service of the President of Chechnya and the Republic's Antiterrorist Centre.

The battalions were formed in 2006 and are structural units of the 46th Brigade of Internal Troops of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, also deployed in Chechnya.