MOSCOW. July 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Akhmad Kadyrov, chief of the Chechen administration, believes that the events like those that occurred in Chechnya in August 1996, when armed groups led by Aslan Maskhadov took over Grozny, will never happen again in Chechnya.
"The leaders of illegal armed groups are spreading information among locals about armed attacks scheduled for August. These talks are provocation and are aimed at causing panic among the people of Chechnya, who are tired of wars, explosions, and terrorist acts," Kadyrov said in an interview with Interfax on Monday.
Kadyrov believes that Maskhadov has adopted "new warfare tactics." "Without the resources for an open clash with the federal troops and units of the Chechen Interior Ministry, he is conducting a psychological war, and trying to keep the people tense and to make them fear for their lives to prevent them from thinking about work or restoring their homes."
"The rebels are trying to make the people believe that the situation in Chechnya is very difficult and tense, because they are terrified of the upcoming elections, knowing that activity will be high and that afterwards, nobody in the world will be able to call Maskhadov president of even the non-existent Ichkeria," Kadyrov said.
Based on his estimates, the situation in Chechnya is steadily improving. "I advise people to look at my family, which I have not taken out of Chechnya even for a day. My parents, children and numerous grandchildren are in the Kurchaloi district, they go to the same mosque, school and hospital as the local people. If I take them to a different region, it means that situation in Chechnya has sharply aggravated," Kadyrov said.
"The people should be told frankly that it will not be possible to rebuild the republic, revive the economy, and fight crime within a short period of time," he said.
"For this reason, it will be possible to talk about a considerable decrease of the Combined Federal Force only after Chechnya has been fully protected from international terrorists and their protectors and after the channels through which terrorists receive funding have been cut," he said.
"We must eliminate the reasons that triggered the anti- terrorist operation, not withdraw the troops, because that will happen immediately once the troops become redundant," Kadyrov said.