Over four thousand citizens disappeared during two military campaigns in Chechnya

In the course of clean-ups ("zachistkas") and non-authorized detentions in the period of military actions in the territory of Chechnya, a total of 4,400 persons disappeared in this Republic.

The figure was made public today by Nurdi Nukhazhiev, Ombudsman for the Chechen Republic. The major part of the missing residents of Chechnya refers to the second military campaign.

"According to our data, in the period from 2000 to 2007, over 2,800 persons disappeared, and in the period from 1994 to 1996, the lists of missing persons comprise over 1,500 citizens," Mr Nukhazhiev has stated. "These people disappeared without any traces not during active combat operations, but were detained at so-called "zachistkas" and special actions at check points."

"When keeping their counts, the authorities first of all rely on the number of applications filed by relatives of kidnapped people. However, in most cases, in the first war years it was practically impossible," a local human rights activist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "The real number of the people kidnapped and missing in the territory of the Republic can be much higher."