GROZNY, Chechnya. Jan 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on Monday instructed the Chechen Interior Ministry to set up a squad to look for the leader of the Chechen separatists, Doku Umarov.
"Last year you were able to kill more than 150 members of illegal armed units as a result of special operations that you carried out jointly with other law enforcement agencies. There were well-known bandit ringleaders among them," Kadyrov said at a meeting with Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov.
"However, that rat, Doku Umarov, remains at large. He tries to put psychological pressure on the population by sensational allegations that he has been involved in various terrorist acts or plans to organize such acts. Before he is neutralized you have no right to calm down and relax," the Chechen president said.
"I believe it would be useful to form a special group from particularly experienced personnel and to instruct it to collect information, look for and detain Doku Umarov. This task should be tackled in close contact with the Administration for Chechnya of the Federal Security Service [FSB] of the Russian Federation, and with structures that are part of the Defense Ministry and other agencies," Kadyrov said.
"It should be the primary goal to detain Umarov," Kadyrov said.
"To do everything possible to ensure that he faces trial and receives the punishment he deserves. But in the case of armed resistance, the lives of police and special services personnel must not be put at risk."