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Russian troops open fire on pro-Moscow Chechen chief's convoy
April 2, 2002
AFP

Russian soldiers opened fire after the convoy of the pro-Russian Chechen administration chief Akhmad Kadyrov failed to produce documents on demand.

Russia's Gazeta.ru online newspaper reported, when Russian troops at a checkpoint halted a police car preceding the convoy, Kadyrov's bodyguards decided to investigate, Kadyrov's press spokesman Lechi Yakhyaev said Monday.

According to the spokesman, the soldiers demanded documents that had never been required on this route before.

"They exchanged words and then began shooting," Yakhyaev said, adding that as soon as Kadyrov left his car and sharply rebuked the soldiers, their commander allowed the convoy to go on its way unmolested.

The pro-Russian Chechen administration considered the incident as a bid by the military to humiliate Kadyrov in front of the crowd assembled at the checkpoint, Yakhyaev said.

The military could also have been showing their outrage at the new rules for local sweeps, which now require Russian soldiers to knock on doors rather than break in, give their name and rank and explain their purpose to the locals.

However, Kadyrov's aide Vakha Nasukhanov was far less belligerent on the subject, which he dismissed as unimportant.

"These soldiers were simply fulfilling their duty and they gave warning shots as it is proper. Nothing terrible has happened," he explained.

Kadyrov, the former mufti (Islamic leader) of the separatist republic, was appointed Chechnya's chief administrator in 2000 and has frequently complained of tensions between his administration and Russian officials.