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July 19, 2006

Chechen Rebels Reject Russian Amnesty

Chechen President Alu Alkhanov (file photo) (AFP)

July 19, 2006 -- The leader of the Chechen rebels today dismissed a Russian amnesty offer, saying attacks outside the region would be the response.

The head of a rebel movement, Doku Umarov, said in the statement on a rebel website that Moscow only wants "to hide the real situation behind lies."


Earlier in the day, Chechnya's Moscow-backed president had proposed a January 1 deadline for separatists to lay down their weapons.


Alu Alkhanov's suggestion came a day after the director of Russia's FSB domestic intelligence service, Nikolai Patrushev, proposed August 1 as the deadline.


Interfax quotes Alkhanov as saying that extending the deadline would give separatists "time to contemplate their decision."


(AP, Interfax, Kavkazcenter)


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