Over 15 residents of tent camps in Ingushetia reportedly detained

INGUSHETIA, November 18, Caucasus Times – At midnight of November 16, the law-enforcement agents detained over 15 Chechen refugees in a sweep conducted by Ingusheia police in Ordzhonikidzevskaya village, the locals told the Caucasus Times correspondent.

According to latest reports, over 15 young men have been detained in the night raid in several camps, namely “Sputnic” Satsita” and “Alina” in Ordzhonikidzevskaya village, the locals said.

“The gunmen came at late night in two vehicles,” says a detainee’s mother. “They burst into our tent grabbed my son Mussa and took him right away, so he could not even put on his cloth. They said they would set my son free after questioning, but Mussa is being kept in custody as yet. Thus far, they’ve been keeping him without any charges,” the woman said.

On November 16, the joint team of regional police and FSB agency conducted a sweep in the refugee camps of Ingushetia to detect and detain the suspects, allegedly linked with illegal armed forces of Chechen militants, the police said. “As of now, we check the detainees to establish any linkage with separatists acting on the territory of Chechnya. Some of them have been released after being questioned. As to the rest of them, we are going to work with them,” a police officer said in his telephone interview with the Caucasus Times agency.

The heavy-handed raids ensued as a result of recent bombing in Troitskaya village of Ingushetia that killed five task forces policemen. The attack triggered sweeps conducted by local and federal police squads in refugee camps. The actions gave rise to concerns among the Chechen residents of refugee camps. “After any incident occurs they usually start hunting down “scapegoats,” largely among the Chechen refugees,” says Yahya Zubairayev, a refugee from Groznyy. “In such circumstances, they may seize an innocent guy who has nothing to do with the militants,” the local man complains.