MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's Federal Migration Service is convinced that some groups are deliberately slowing down the return of refugees from Ingushetia to Chechnya.
"Certain groups obviously oppose the return of refugees to Chechnya, as well as efforts to normalize the situation. They keep spreading rumors that refugees are being forced out of Ingushetia," first deputy head of the Federal Migration Service Igor Yunash told Interfax on Thursday.
"Tensions fanned over this issue are politically motivated. Some would like the Chechen refugees to remain in their camps in Ingushetia as a sign of instability in the North Caucasus," Yunash said.
He said humanitarian aid organizations are not interested in this, either, as they will lose "fields of activity."
Yunash pointed out that the Federal Migration Service has not received a single complaint from refugees about being forced out of Ingushetia. "Moreover, none of the human rights activists has quoted a single fact pointing to any pressure being put on refugees," he said.
He announced that refugees could leave their camps in Ingushetia before the winter. "We have enough means of transportation and food to move them to Chechnya. The question is whether the Chechen authorities have enough housing to accommodate all those who wish to come back," he said.
Those refugees who decide to stay in Ingushetia will be able to stay. "We shall offer them more comfortable housing," said Yunash.
Since the beginning of 2003, about 7,000 refugees have returned to Chechnya from Ingushetia.
About 60,000 Chechens remain in Ingushetia, including 10,000 who live in camps.