MOSCOW (Islamweb & Agencies) - Russia's top official in Chechnya on Thursday demanded that top army brass be held responsible for rights abuses in the troubled region, Interfax news agency reported.Akhmad Kadyrov, head of Chechnya's pro-Moscow administration, said he wanted military leaders to answer alongside six soldiers accused of crimes against civilians during recent search operations, according to Interfax.(Read photo caption below).
News reports also said a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter had crash-landed southeast of the Chechen capital Grozny, but the fate of those on board was unclear.
Itar-Tass news agency quoted military officials as saying there had been no casualties. Interfax, however, quoted ''informed sources'' as saying six people were killed and eight hurt. The War Ministry was not available for comment.
Earlier this month, the residents of three Chechen villages -- Sernovodsk, Assinovskaya and Kurchaloi -- accused Russian troops of harassing civilians and detaining several people during an operation to root out Chechen Resistance leaders. .
Russian authorities claim that they have launched an investigation into the incidents and officials initially said serious crimes had been committed. However, most later softened their criticism.
The Russian invasion authorities claim that the sweeps through the three villages -- which had been seen as largely cooperative with Russian authorities -- were launched in response to Chechen Resistance attacks.
Villagers said many of them had been beaten up and their property taken away by soldiers. At least two Chechens detained during the operations are still missing.
Interfax quoted top prosecutor Viktor Dakhnov as claiming that six soldiers had been arrested after ``excessively cruel'' actions.
OSCE BACKS PROBE
Rights groups have long complained of excesses by Russian forces in the 21-month-old military operation. Russia denies systematic wrongdoing and has vowed to act against offenders.
The office of Moscow's chief Chechnya spokesman, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said 82 servicemen had so far been charged with crimes committed in Chechnya, including 30 servicemen charged with murder, Interfax reported.
Following a visit from Justice Minister Yuri Chaika, the head of the Chechnya mission for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Alexandru Cornea, said the arrests were a sign Russia was taking alleged rights abuses seriously.
He said he and Chaika had been allowed to tour a military detention camp at Chernokozovo and had found conditions decent.
Authorities in Georgia, south of Chechnya, were searching for a Chechen radio station, which Russian media said was beaming to the region from territory under Tbilisi's control.
Interfax also reported that the bodies of two Russian soldiers were found near Gudermes, Chechnya's second town.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Twenty-one-year-old Chechen villager Zelimkhan Muskhanov, who said he was seized from his house Friday at dawn by soldiers and repeatedly beaten in detention, poses for a photographer in the Chechen village of Voikovo just south of Grozny, Sunday, July 8, 2001. Russia's nationalities minister pledged Sunday that federal troops would be held responsible if they commit crimes in the Chechnya war, while Chechen villagers claimed they were tortured in Russian detention. (AP Photo )
- Jul 08 5:30 PM ET