Growing unrest in Chechnya

(Baonghean) - According to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency citing police sources, the conflict on Thursday (December 4) between security forces and rebels in the capital of Chechnya left at least 5 police officers dead and many others injured.

The TV station building - where clashes took place between rebels and security forces on December 4. Photo: Elena Fitkulina/AFP

Militants from the Islamic Movement of the Caucasus called for attacks on the Kavkazcenter website on the night of December 3. They said they were acting on orders from the new leader, Sheikh Ali Abu Muhammad.

The fighting began at an intersection in the capital Grozny, and then spread to a television building and a school. However, it is not known whether the rebels' seizure of the television building and school was planned in advance or was forced upon them. At the same time, the authorities do not know whether the rebels were acting alone or were linked to other rebel groups.

According to the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, some of the attackers were surrounded in the TV station building, while others were still hiding in the school. Chechen President Ekho Moskvy said: “Six terrorists were eliminated” and affirmed that “not a single terrorist will be left alive at the scene”. According to President Moskvy, at around 8am (about 12pm in Vietnam), security forces had almost controlled the situation in Grozny.

After two wars with Russia in the 1990s and early 2000s, Chechnya has gradually stabilized under the “iron fist” of President Ramza Kadyrov, who is considered to have “close” relations with the Kremlin. However, in early October, the death of five police officers when they stopped a suicide bomber at a concert raised fears of a new wave of violence in Chechnya. In September, jihadists from the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq announced on YouTube that they would support the Caucasus rebels’ fight against the Moscow government in Chechnya.

Chu Thanh

According to LeMonde 4/12