Speaking at a briefing at RFE/RL's Washington office on 27 March, Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov noted that since the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) took over from the Defense Ministry responsibility for conducting the war in Chechnya, brutality against Chechen civilians has increased significantly. He said that over the past two months, hundreds of Chechens have simply disappeared, many of whom have been killed and buried in mass graves. Previously, Akhmadov noted, the average number of bodies discovered in mass graves was 10-15; that figure has now risen to 100-200.

Akhmadov said Moscow's decision to target the civilian population may reflect frustration on the part of both the Russian government and people at the Russian forces' failure to inflict a total military defeat on the Chechen forces, whose numbers Akhmadov put at 15,000.

Akhmadov also denied Russian media reports that he or other Chechens are considering setting up a government-in-exile either in the U.S. or elsewhere. (RFE/RL)

RFE/RL CAUCASUS REPORT
Vol. 4, No. 13, 30 March 2001