Chechnya: Over 4000 Missing People
A Human Rights Chief says over 4000 people are missing in
''Our records indicate that over 2,800 people disappeared in 2000-2007, and 1,500 disappeared in 1994-1996,'' Nukhazhiyev told RIA Novosti news agency.
Recently,
However, gunfights and terrorist attacks still occur on a daily basis, in the area, despite a widely publicised amnesty for gunmen as announced by the Russian authorities.
The Western countries have strongly criticized
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled in April that Russia must pay a Chechen woman about 70,000 dollars in compensation for moral damages related to her husband's disappearance and alleged killing in 2000.
About 200 similar cases are currently pending before the
''These missing people disappeared without a trace during the so-called mopping-up operations at military checkpoints, rather than during combat action,'' Nukhaziyev said.
He added that many mass graves had been found in