26 May 2009, 19:00
Tsyganok claims data of presidents of Chechnya and Ingushetia on militants differ from data of MoI and FSS
The statements of presidents of Chechnya and Ingushetia on the number of militants in their republics widely differ form the data from MoI and FSS, claims Anatoli Tsyganok, head of the Military Forecasts under the Institute of Political and Military Analysis.
"The trouble is that the Chechen president and many other leaders often hide the real number of militants. For instance if we listen to the Chechen president, he claims that there are only 250 people there. The president of Ingushetia even states that there are only 50 people there. According to the data of militia, there are 1000 to 1200 militants in the mountains, this is for sure. It is natural therefore that 5 people of a standard group are not able to conduct search activities against a thousand militants", says Anatoli Tsyganok to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
As has been reported earlier, on May 21 a winter base of the militants fit for accommodating up to 60 people was annihilated in the mountains of Vedensk district in the south-east of Chechnya. Another major base of the militants was found in the vicinity of the village of Chemulga, Sunzhensk district of Ingushetia, in the course of a special operation on chasing a group of militants. This has been reported by the law enforcement agencies of the regions.
According to Dmitri Berkut, former officer of MoI special units, information on the number of militants widely differs between politicians and those who directly take part in the operations against them.
For reference, according to the data of Arkadi Edelev, deputy minister of RF interior, up to 500 militants and their supporters on the Chechen territory and up to 120 militants in Ingushetia acted in January.
Author: Dmitry Florin Source: CK correspondent
