Chechnya: broad-scale anti-militant operation fruitless so far

More than a month ago, President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov announced another broad-scale special operation against members of the armed underground. The operation zone covers all the mountainous and a number of foothill areas of the republic; however, no serious results in the war on militants have been reported yet.

The main task that Kadyrov put before commanders of his units on January 19 was to find and liquidate the leader of separatists Doku Umarov and his closest retinue. Kadyrov's cousin - Adam Delimkhanov, a Deputy of Russian State Duma and adviser to the President of Chechnya, was appointed to command the operation.

Then, a number of Chechen experts expressed their opinion that the special operation announced by Kadyrov was a sort of a PR campaign directly connected with appointment of Alexander Khloponin, former governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, to the post of the Plenipotentiary of President of Russia in  the newly created North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). By coincidence of circumstances, the large-scale power action against participants of armed resistance was announced right on the day, when Mr Khloponin was appointed as Plenipotentiary.

Four and a half weeks of the operation brought no special results to power agents. During this period, according to official data, in the territory of Chechnya employees of power agencies liquidated two groups of militants, four and five persons strong.

In both cases power agents reported that mid-level militants commanders were among the liquidated members of the armed underground - Amirs Chingiskhan Gishaev and Ilman Estamirov. On February 15, in the Gudermes and Kurchaloy Districts of the republic, two armed clashes burst out between employees of power agencies and small groups of militants, as a result of which one officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya was lost, and two more law enforcers were wounded. Huge forces of power agents were sent to search the members of the armed underground who took part in the clashes, but nobody was found and liquidated.

Then, Chechnya saw a relative peace. The official structures made no statements about any new battle collisions in the mountain and foothill regions of the republic. However, at night on February 17 in Grozny, according to city residents, two terror acts were committed against power agents; however, this information was not confirmed by the authorities. Experts from Chechnya explain it by the fact that on that day the delegation of the UK Parliament headed by Lord Judd was visiting Chechnya.

Local observers believe that with approach of the spring-and-summer season militants may become more active both in Chechnya and neighbouring republics.

"I know many people in different power agencies, and when I asked them about the broad-scale operations against militants, they lust waved away. According to their stories, the whole 'broad-scale special operation' means that power agents go to some locality, reach the nearest forest edge and stay there for several days, trying not to get deep into the woods, where militants can be met," one of local experts told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his version, real results are achieved only if a small group of militants gets in an ambush. "Naturally, in almost impassable mountain-woody areas, members of the armed underground always have advantage, since they perfectly orient in the localities and live for months, if not for years, in the conditions, just intolerable for an ordinary person," said the source.

In his opinion, it is hard to expect any fast victory over the armed underground in Chechnya.

"The forces of armed resistance have shown their viability. Armed actions are on since 1999, and in the first years, whole army divisions and brigades of internal troops were at war on militants, including air forces, artillery and other heavy weapons, including small-range missiles. However, after federal troops managed to defeat large militants' groupings, the war passed over into the stage of guerrilla actions," said the source.

He noted that now power agents confront with small but extremely mobile independent groups of militants, which have practically unlimited freedom to move across Northern Caucasus and to acts, when they find it most appropriate. "In winter, as a rule, militants prefer to stay in their bases, but with approach of warmer season they pass over to active actions. I think, this spring with not be exception. Moreover, their raids may become even more scaled and daring than before," the expert was convinced.

Another local observer believes that Chechen leadership, despite all declarative statements and constantly demonstrated readiness to defeat the armed underground, make use of the "militants' factor" for their own benefits.

"It's enough to recollect, for how many times in recent years Ramzan Kadyrov promised to liquidate all the militants, according to his version, no more than 70 bandits remaining. He asked to give him a week for that, then - two weeks or a month. Last time, if I'm not mistaken, he planned to liquidate the armed underground by the end of last year. What achievements in the war on militants can we state, if in the latest year or two not a single leading militants' commander was detained or liquidated in Chechnya, to say nothing about Umarov and his retinue?" asked the observer.

He is sure that Kadyrov is making use of the militants' factor for extracting benefits for himself and a usual PR campaign. "As soon as they kill one-two militants somewhere in the mountains, he immediately puts on his military uniform and rushes there, accompanied by his huge security, to get pictured by TV cameras and personally declare another great success," the source asserts.

According to official data, in 2009, 148 separatists were liquidated in the territory of the republic in the course of special operations, and 290 more militants and their helpers were detained. On the other hand, during the last ten months, over 80 power agents were lost and 165 more wounded in Chechnya.

It should be noted here that after cancellation last April of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, which had been kept in Chechnya for about ten years, over 50 explosions were registered in the territory of the republic, including nine terror acts committed by suicide bombers. In these 300 days after CTO cancellation the count of losses among power agents makes 84 persons; and 165 more were wounded. Besides, during this period at least 18 murders, 32 cases of injuries and 32 kidnappings of civilians in Chechnya were reported.

Thus, the end of the counterterrorist operation has not brought, as Chechen residents had hoped, the promised peace and stability to the republic.

The "Caucasian Knot" continues monitoring the situation in the Chechen Republic after cancellation of the almost 10-year-long CTO regime and running the chronicle of murders, terror acts and kidnappings committed in the republic.