Key developments since May 2005: In June 2006, Russian officials
confirmed that Russian forces continued to use antipersonnel mines in Chechnya.
Chechen forces have continued to use improvised explosive devices extensively.
Clearance teams cleared 5,000 items of explosive ordnance in Chechnya and
Ingushetia, including 32 landmines cleared from railway lines. National NGOs
supported by UNICEF, ICRC and Danish Demining Group/Danish Refugee Council
provided mine risk education in Chechnya and to displaced people in the northern
Caucasus. UNICEF recorded 24 new landmine/UXO casualties, continuing the
reduction in casualties in recent years. To make casualty data more accurate,
changes were made to the data collection and recording system. UNICEF conducted
the first training on trauma counselling for 22 child psychologists from
Chechnya. ICRC secured treatment for Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan.
Mine Ban Policy
Chechnya is not an internationally recognized sovereign state, and therefore
cannot accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor is not aware of any
statements on landmine policy by Chechen officials since January 2000, when a
military official said, “The question of banning the use of antipersonnel
mines, which we put to some field commanders ... caused unconcealed indignation.
The main conclusion made by our representatives is that mines will not be
discarded from general military strategy by either the Russian Army or the
Chechen detachments.”[1]
Both Russian Federation forces and Chechen forces have used mines extensively
during the conflict from December 1994 to August 1996 and from 1999 to the
present. The UN has recorded over 3,000 civilian casualties due to mines
and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Chechnya since 1995. (See Landmine/UXO
Casualties section).
Production, Transfer, and Stockpiling
A Chechen official told Landmine Monitor in 2001 that the “Chechen
Republic has no factories for making
mines.”[2] There have been no
reports of mass production of landmines in Chechnya. A Chechen military officer
told Landmine Monitor that all rebel mines were either obtained from the Russian
military or were left over from the first war in
Chechnya.[3] Chechen rebels continued
to make, store and use large numbers of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Often, media reports and other sources use the terms IED, mine, bomb and
explosive interchangeably, and rarely distinguish between antipersonnel and
antivehicle devices.
Russian forces discovered numerous Chechen weapons caches in 2005 and 2006
with mines, IEDs and materials used in the construction of IEDs, such as plastic
explosives, detonators and artillery shells. The Interior Ministry reported
that in 2005, Chechen rebel weapon caches containing 513 landmines, 175 IEDs and
more than two tons of explosives were
discovered.[4]
Some examples of seizures which included landmines in 2006 follow. Seven
landmines were found in a bunker reportedly belonging to “Ichkeria
RepublicVice-President warlord Doko Umarov” in the village of Asinovskaya
in May.[5] A weapons cache containing
two mines was found in Grozny in
May,[6] another containing mines was
found in Nozhai-Yurt district in
April,[7] and another with two mines
was found in Grozny in March.[8] Five
arms caches found over a 24-hour period in February 2006 in various Chechen
districts contained nine landmines.[9] In addition, three antivehicle mines were found during construction work
in Grozny.[10]
Some examples of other seizures in 2006
follow.[11] On 16 June 2006, police
seized a cache with three makeshift explosive devices (including a 12-liter
bucket filled with plastic explosives and metal fragments), seven 152mm shells,
a “land mine,” and other munitions near the highway leading to
Grozny.[12] On 9 June, a weapons
cache was discovered in Achkhoy-Martanovskiy district containing five artillery
shells used to make IEDs, plastic explosive, TNT, detonators and fuzes, as well
as other munitions.[13] On 20-21
May 2006, a series of raids by law enforcement agencies yielded some 1,500
shells and other parts for IEDs outside Grozny; fuzes, detonators, plastic
explosives and TNT in Staryye Atagi; parts for IEDs in Nozhay-Yurtovskiy
district; and two 122mm artillery shells, fuzes and a detonator in Kashkar,
Vedenskiy district.[14]
Use by Chechen Rebels
Chechen rebels continued to use explosive devices extensively. Given the
lack of precision in terminology and reporting noted above, it is difficult to
ascertain the degree to which victim-activated antipersonnel mines or IEDs are
being used. It appears that, in most instances, the rebels have used
command-detonated IEDs targeting vehicles.
In January 2006, a senior Russian Interior Ministry official,
Lieutenant-General Vladimir Ryabinin, stated that Chechen rebels have resorted
to a landmine war because they “have neither forces nor means to conduct
active military action.” He alleged that rebels recruit mostly teenagers
to plant landmines.[15]
According to the Interior Ministry, as of early 2006, Russian combat
engineers had neutralized more than 4,500 landmines—including 700
radio-controlled and 1,200 wire-controlled—since the beginning of the
conflict in Chechnya. Russian combat engineers reportedly destroyed 182
landmines, including 17 radio-controlled devices, in
2005.[16]
Based on information compiled by Landmine Monitor from reports by various
news agencies, including RIA-Novosti and Itar-Tass, there were
about 90 incidents of mine and IED explosions from August 2005 to March 2006,
killing at least 96 and wounding at least 120 soldiers and police. IEDs and
radio-controlled mines were employed in the majority of incidents.
Most mine and IED incidents attributed to Chechen rebels occured on roads and
were targeted against military vehicles carrying Russian forces or pro-Russian
police.[17] Russia also blames
Chechen rebels for mine attacks on Russian engineer reconnaissance teams and
sappers, mainly carried out during demining
operations.[18] According to a
Russian military spokesperson, as of January 2006, 123 military engineers had
died and 232 had been wounded in
Chechnya.[19]
Landmine Monitor has noted in the past that rebels also targeted civilians by
planting blast mines next to a bus stop, the central mosque of Grozny, a school
and agricultural fields.[20]
Use by Russian Forces
In June 2006, Russian officials confirmed to Landmine Monitor that Russian
forces continue to use antipersonnel mines in Chechnya, both newly emplaced
mines and existing defensive minefields, noting, “Antipersonnel mines are
used to protect facilities of high importance.” They insisted that all
use of antipersonnel mines “complies with Amended Protocol II,” that
“all necessary documentation for minefields is retained,” and that
all minefields “are fenced and the civilian population informed.”
They indicated mines are used by forces of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of
Interior, and Border Guards. They said Russian forces “do not use
antivehicle mines” in Chechnya because the rebels “have no
vehicles.”[21]
Russian forces employed both hand-emplaced and remotely-delivered
antipersonnel mines extensively with the resumption and intensification of war
in 1999 and 2000. In recent years, as the conflict evolved into more classic
guerrilla warfare, there has been great reduction in the use of
remotely-delivered and hand-emplaced
landmines.[22] In January 2006,
Colonel Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the commander of the Russian ground troops,
stated that over 800 rebel fighters had been killed by landmines since Russian
forces reentered Chechnya in 1999.[23]
Landmine and ERW Problem
Chechnya is heavily contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war
(ERW) due to continued combat.[24] As of April 2006, according to the UNICEF-managed Information Management
System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database, some 3,054 civilians (including 737
children) had been killed or injured by mines and ERW since
1995.[25]
According to the UN, the presence of mines and UXO in Chechnya also
aggravates the socioeconomic vulnerability of civilians and restricts their
access to natural resources. Adverse conditions force some of them to engage in
risky activities, such as collecting food or firewood in the forests or
collecting scrap metal from UXO. Internally displaced people and returnees are
also exposed to the risks as they move through or resettle in mine-affected
areas.[26]
Mine Action
There is no civilian mine action program in the Russian Federation. Mine
clearance remains the responsibility of three governmental bodies: the Engineer
Forces of the Ministry of Defense, demining brigades of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, and the Russian National Corps of Emergency Humanitarian Operations of
the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Resources. The main
responsibility for mine clearance lies with the Engineer Forces. The Russian
National Corps deals mainly with unexploded aircraft
bombs.[27] According to the UN, at
the end of 2005, there was no government-led body responsible for the
coordination of mine action in
Chechnya.[28]
According to the Head of the Engineering Forces of the North Caucasian
Military District, Engineering Forces’ demining teams in Chechnya and
Ingushetia checked more than 138,000 kilometers of roads and column routes,
disposing of 5,500 items of explosive ordnance (including 32 landmines) in
2005.[29]
A “short” humanitarian demining mission (the first recorded in
Chechnya since the resumption of conflict in late 1999) was organized by the
Russian Federation’s Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and of
Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) in March-April 2005. However,
information about the locations cleared and the scope of the operations has not
been released by either the republican or the federal authorities and no plans
for more systematic clearing operations have been
announced.[30]
In March 2006, UNICEF conducted a monitoring mission to Chechnya during which
a meeting was held with Akhmed Zeirkhanov, the Deputy Minister of EMERCOM. He
is said to have confirmed that the federal level of EMERCOM “should soon
deploy a special group of deminers from Rostov-on-Don, with the aim of building
the capacity of local EMERCOM specialists in mine/UXO
clearance.”[31]
It was reported in August 2005 that the Ministry of Defense had a device to
identify explosive devices on railroads under development. General Grigory
Kogatko, the commander of the Russian railroad troops, stated that mine
detectors often fail to identify explosives on rails, because the railroad
groundwork contains metal. He claimed that 16,000 kilometers of rails were
cleared during operations in Chechnya in 2004, with 13 deminers killed in the
process.[32]
Mine Risk Education
Mine risk education (MRE) remains a vital means of reducing the impact of
mines and UXO on the civilian population, according to UNICEF: “The
effectiveness of the MRE efforts that have been undertaken by UNICEF, ICRC and
DDG over the past five years seems to be confirmed by the gradual decrease in
the number of incidents and casualties (from 812 in 2000 to 204 in 2003 and 88
in 2004).”[33]
UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Danish
Demining Group/Danish Refugee Council (DDG/DRC) worked in cooperation with local
NGOs Voice of the Mountains and Let’s Save the Generation, as well as with
governmental entities. The Ministry of Emergencies does not provide
MRE.[34] Off-the-record reports
from operators suggest that the Chechen resistance does not cooperate in MRE
activities.
UNICEF has acted as the coordination focal point for mine action in the North
Caucasus since 2002, in “the absence of a national mine action authority,
and in a situation marked by the government’s reluctance to take direct
responsibility for providing assistance to the civilian population in
Chechnya....”[35] UNICEF is
responsible for ensuring that all activities implemented by UN agencies, ICRC
and NGOs in Chechnya and neighboring republics are complementary. During 2005,
organizations conducting MRE in Chechnya focused on ensuring the future
sustainability of their programs through the direct involvement of local
communities and administrations.[36]
The beneficiary population consists of about 450,000 people living in
mine/UXO-affected areas, about 160,000 internally displaced people, 25,000
internally displaced people in Ingushetia and up to 10,000 in Dagestan.
Children are targeted for MRE as they have often become casualties due to the
absence of safe play-areas, while displaced people are also especially
vulnerable. [37] As in previous
years, in 2005, MRE was conducted in Chechnya by means of mass-media campaigns,
community-based and school-based
programs.[38]
Chechen television twice broadcast a game in which university students
competed on MRE-related topics; the game was organized by Let’s Save the
Generation with UNICEF support. Local television channels showed meetings where
community leaders discussed the mine/ERW problem. ICRC and DDG/DRC also engaged
in mass media campaigns.[39]
Community-based MRE was continued by UNICEF in partnership with Voice of the
Mountains, targeting both the adult and child population. Focus groups were
established by UNICEF in 2005 in 10 mine-affected districts, and new MRE posters
and leaflets were distributed. In 2006, it planned to establish an additional
eight focus groups in other affected districts. The groups use different
methods to provide MRE to the population, for example using religious leaders to
disseminate MRE messages among the male adult population which is the most
difficult group to reach.[40]
The joint DDG/DRC MRE program continued providing direct presentations mainly
to Chechen adults, but also addressing children and youth, and displaced
Chechens in temporary settlements in Ingushetia. In 2005, 44,956 people
received MRE.[41] Three mobile
teams of DDG/DRC instructors carry out community-based MRE workshops in all
cultural and public services, educational, financial and children’s
institutions. Each group is assessed before and after MRE sessions. Materials
and tools such as posters, booklets, leaflets, radio and television clips
containing MRE messages are also distributed to refresh the population’s
awareness and vigilance. One-day MRE trainings for 182 school librarians were
conducted in seven districts.[42]
DDG/DRC created 20 safe play-areas in six districts in 2005, and conducted
MRE with community members. DDG/DRC also conducted children’s festivals
with an MRE component in Nozhai-Yurtovsky, Urus-Martanovsky and Shalinsky
districts.[43]
ICRC continued MRE activities targeting children through television programs,
newspapers and puppet theaters. For 2006 it planned to produce an information
bulletin for journalists; to support MRE media initiatives and to relay messages
via mobile phones.[44] ICRC
supported the construction of 15 safe play-areas; a further 20 were scheduled
for construction in 2006.[45] UNICEF helped to establish 23 leisure centers which children attend; these
provide a safe play and learning environment to some 920 children every day. An
additional eight centers are in the process of being
opened.[46]
School-based MRE activities were conducted by UNICEF in cooperation with the
Chechen Ministry of Education. MRE has been included in the curriculum of
secondary schools since 2002. In 2006, UNICEF planned to train 250 secondary
school teachers. From January 2005 to May 2006, DDG/DRC provided training of
trainer workshops for 214 schoolteachers and
imams.[47]
UNICEF targeted some 75,000 children through the Chechen State Drama Theater,
Voice of the Mountains and the Chechen State Youth Committee. At least nine
theater performances were given in 2005, each reaching about 250 children, and
received positive feedback from the children and teachers involved, according to
UNICEF.[48]
Following efforts to improve data collection, Voice of the Mountains created
Quick Response MRE teams in 2005, to intensify MRE presentations in a region
following a mine incident.[49]
UNICEF and the UN Department for Safety and Security in the Russian
Federation continued to organize two-day mine/UXO safety trainings, developed by
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Local and international staff, primarily from
UN agencies based in the northern Caucasus attended the seminars; attendance is
obligatory.[50]
Funding and Assistance
In 2005, three countries reported providing US$982,124 for mine action in
Chechnya and surrounding regions, an increase from 2004 ($804,066 from three
countries and the European
Commission).[51] Donors reporting
funding for 2005 were:
Denmark: DKK2,600,000 ($433,673) to DDG for
MRE;[52]
Finland: €180,000 ($224,082) to Finnish Red Cross/ICRC for victim
assistance and MRE in the Grozny
area;[53]
Germany: €260,558 ($324,369) to UNICEF for MRE and victim
assistance.[54]
UNICEF received funding of $1,039,788 for mine action in Chechnya and
surrounding regions through the Portfolio of Mine Action Projects for
2005.[55] A similar amount was
received by UNICEF in 2004
($1,035,145).[56]
The $1,039,788 received by UNICEF in 2005 included:
Victim assistance funding of $653,313 from Canada ($71,867), Germany
($334,009), US ($100,000), the Dutch National Committee ($47,183) and the UK
National Committee ($100,254);[57]
MRE funding of $386,475 from the EC ($236,093), the Dutch National Committee
($46,035) and the UK National Committee ($104,347).
Landmine/UXO Casualties
UNICEF recorded 24 landmine/UXO casualties in 2005; 13 were killed (five
children) and 11 were injured (five
children).[58] This is a
significant decrease compared to 94 casualties in 2004 and 209 casualties in
2003.[59] However, with no
nationwide data collection system, this cannot be assumed to accurately
represent the situation. The total number of landmine casualties in Chechnya is
not known.
Examples of incidents reported in Chechnya by the UNICEF/Voice of the
Mountains letter-box system of local data-collectors in 2005 included a man
killed by an antivehicle mine near the former Sheripova petroleum refinery on 30
May. One boy was killed and another injured by a mine incident in Assinovskay
village, Sunzhenskiy
district.[60]
Casualties continued to be reported in 2006, with 17 (13 killed and four
injured) as of May 2006.[61] On 5
April 2006, a Russian soldier was injured by an antipersonnel mine in Itoum-Kale
district.[62]
The number of new mine/UXO casualties appears to be declining in Chechnya.
Between 1995 and April 2006, UNICEF recorded 3,054 civilian landmine/UXO
casualties: 17 casualties in 2006, 24 in 2005, 94 in 2004, 209 in 2003, 446 in
2002, 643 in 2001, 720 in 2000, 373 in 1999, and 528 from
1995-1998.[63] The Chechen Center
of Catastrophe Medicine also reported a significant decrease in the number of
civilian casualties caused by mines, booby-traps, UXO and IEDs since
2002.[64]
Data Collection: During 2005, UNICEF and local NGOs continued efforts
to improve the data collection system for mine/ERW incidents and casualties, to
improve the targeting of MRE and victim assistance and to plan marking and
clearance activities. The incident/casualty database is maintained on the IMSMA
database by Voice of the Mountains in Grozny. It carried out a two-day training
on injury surveillance for 15 people to collect data at the local level; these
people are referred to as ‘letter-boxes’ and operate in all
districts of Chechnya. Seven monitors from Voice of the Mountains and DDG and
three nurses from Urus-Martanovsky hospital, Shalinsky hospital and Grozny
hospital no. 9 were also
trained.[65]
UNICEF and ICRC signed an agreement in 2005 to share casualty data. In 2006,
UNICEF completed verification of the data shared by ICRC, which continued to
register new mine/UXO casualties through the ICRC-supported health structures,
while UNICEF and Voice of the Mountains continued to collect information through
the 15 letter-boxes. Also in 2006, 20 people were trained in data collection
and analysis, and an analysis module of the Epi.Info system was applied to
produce the quarterly mine incident report disseminated among mine action
stakeholders in the region.[66]
Survivor Assistance, Disability Policy and Practice
Surgical and general health facilities in Chechnya were devastated by war.
Lack of resources and the security situation also hamper the delivery of
adequate assistance.[67] NGOs and
international agencies have worked to strengthen the health infrastructure in
Chechnya and neighboring republics. As of December 2005, 16 humanitarian
organizations were engaged in the health sector in Chechnya, 14 of which also
implemented psychosocial projects.[68] The ICRC’s operations in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia continued
to suffer constraints in 2005-2006 due to the highly volatile security
environment; however, ICRC access to Chechnya improved, with expatriate
delegates making regular visits to the
republic.[69]
ICRC supported 10 hospitals in Chechnya and two referral hospitals in
Ingushetia and Dagestan in 2005 with surgical supplies, medicines and equipment.
ICRC-supported hospitals assisted 707 conflict casualties, including mine
casualties, in 2005. ICRC also facilitated specialized war surgery training for
23 surgeons from the northern Caucasus in Moscow and Nalchik, and 46 other
doctors (including Chechens) attended specialized courses. ICRC signed an
agreement with a medical equipment maintenance company in Nalchik for regular
maintenance and staff training for donated
equipment.[70]
In December 2005, Médecins Sans Frontières-Netherlands
conducted a one-week training for 15 nurses from neurosurgery, surgery and
trauma departments of hospitals in
Chechnya.[71]
In early 2006, German doctors provided surgical care for 120 Chechen children
injured by mines or with genetic
deformities.[72]
The Federal Agency for Health and Social Development in the Russian
Federation is responsible for physical rehabilitation services. Although the
number of disabled people requiring physical rehabilitation services in Chechnya
is not known, ICRC estimated between 5,000 and 6,000 amputees need such
services.[73]
ICRC provided capacity building support to the Ministry of Health and Social
Development-run orthopedic center in Grozny; the local authorities allocated
sufficient funds for operating and material costs. In 2005, the center assisted
953 people, produced 268 prostheses (201 for mine/UXO survivors) and 55
orthoses, and distributed 12 pairs of crutches. About 2,000 people, mostly
amputees, are registered at the center, which can deal with more patients since
the return of eight newly trained technicians at the end of 2004. However,
there are too few prosthetic and orthotic professionals to meet the demand, so
ICRC sponsored six newly recruited prosthetic and orthotic technicians who began
training in prosthetics and orthotics at the St. Petersburg Social College in
2005. Eight prosthetic technicians from Chechnya graduated from a two-year,
ICRC-funded training program at Sochi Orthopedic Center (in southern Russia),
which ICRC supported until the end of
2005.[74]
The ICRC and International Federation of the Red Cross and the National
Society agreed to strengthen the 13 Red Cross branches in southern Russia and
the northern Caucasus based on an in-depth assessment of capacities, and to
implement a long-term development plan. The newly re-established Red Cross
branch in Chechnya assumed responsibility for joint ICRC and National Society
programs. ICRC undertook a vulnerability needs assessment in Chechnya, Dagestan
and Ingushetia, which led to assistance for over 50 households (approximately
350 beneficiaries) through micro-economic
projects.[75]
UNICEF in cooperation with NGO partners and World Health Organization (WHO)
continued survivor assistance as part of its Mine Action Program in the northern
Caucasus, focusing on mine-injured children and women from Chechnya. The
program includes physical rehabilitation, the fitting of prostheses,
psychosocial counseling and vocational training. In 2005, UNICEF supported the
production of 78 prostheses, provided 111 wheelchairs, 300 walking sticks, 300
crutches, and five multi-functional beds for distribution to women and children
with disabilities through the Ministry of Health and local NGOs. UNICEF also
supported the Republican Clinical Hospital in Grozny with essential medical
equipment and the provision of physical rehabilitation for child mine/UXO
survivors. In 2005, 187 child survivors were assisted with physical
rehabilitation at the hospital.[76] In mid-December 2005, UNICEF conducted the first training on trauma
counseling for 22 child psychologists from Chechnya; this was facilitated by the
Israel Trauma Coalition/Herzog Hospital, which has extensive experience in
trauma counseling.
In 2005, Handicap International (HI) funded participation of eight
rehabilitation specialists from Chechnya for certified training at Kislovodsk
Technical College.[77] From May
2005 to April 2006, HI-supported centers provided rehabilitation services to
5,501 people, provided 501 people with mobility devices and 257 people were
visited to provide information on community services, including mine survivors.
HI ceased provision of equipment to trauma and orthopedic departments in
2006.[78]
The NGO Minga and the Zaschita Russian Center of Disaster Medicine also
provide medical and rehabilitation
support.[79] The Landmine
Café in Grozny, established by landmine survivors and supported by ICRC
and Minga, aims to support the social reintegration of people with
disabilities.[80]
In Grozny, the International Rescue Committee conducted psychosocial
counseling in closed and open group sessions to 114 children, and held
information meetings for parents and teachers to address psychosocial needs of
children; 38 parents and eight teachers attended these
meetings.[81]
Let’s Save the Generation, with support from UNICEF and WHO, provides
both peer and professional psychosocial support for disabled children and their
families. In 2005, the center assisted 129 children; all were mine/UXO
survivors.[82] With support from
HI, 80 students received computer training. In April 2006, 20 children from
Shali received psychosocial treatment through individual and group counseling,
music, game and art
therapies.[83]
Voice of the Mountains, with support from UNICEF, operated vocational
training courses in English and information technologies (IT) for
mine/UXO-affected adolescents at Grozny Technical College. UNICEF also
supported a vocational training program run by the People in Need Foundation in
Ingushetia, and a program in Chechnya run by the Association for the Disabled.
In 2005, 220 vulnerable young people, including mine/UXO survivors, completed
their training courses.[84]
The Chechen branch of the All-Russian Society of the Disabled and UNICEF
started a vocational training course in sewing for girls. In 2005, about 70
girls received training, including mine
survivors.[85]
From 26 November to 4 December 2005, the Laman Az football team of child mine
survivors, supported by UNICEF and Voice of the Mountains, participated in the
national football championship for people with
disabilities.[86]
In 2005, in Azerbaijan, the ICRC office and the Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection reached an agreement that Chechen mine survivors would receive free
assistance at rehabilitation centers in Azerbaijan; 18 Chechens refugees who
made applications received free assistance through ICRC support in
2005.[87]
The Federal Fund of Obligatory Medical Insurance and a Russian Federation
Ministry of Health decree are intended to ensure that medical care for the
Chechen population is available in other republics. Small pensions are
available for people with disabilities; however, the pensions are reportedly
inadequate to cover basic living
costs.[88]
[1] Interviews with Kh. Israpilov,
Commander-in Chief, Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria, Grozny, 2-3
January 2000. [2] Letter from Lyoma Usamov, US
Representative of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria, 19 June 2001. [3] Interview with Col. M.
Arsaliev, Engineer, Krasny Molot plant, Grozny, December 1999. [4] “Chechen Police Killed
140 Militants in 2005,” Interfax (Grozny), 17 January 2006. [5] “Policemen get ready to
read Doku Umarov’s diary: The bunker of Ichkeria Republic Vice-President
Warlord Doku Umarov is found,” WPS: Defense and Security, 17 May
2006. [6] “Two large arms caches
found in Chechnya,” BBC, 19 May 2006. [7] “Officer, two soldiers
wounded in Chechnya,” Associated Press (Rostov-on-Don, Russia), 5
April 2006. [8] “Large arms cache found
in Chechnya,” RIA-Novosti (Grozny), 26 March 2006. [9] “Three rebel suspects,
policemen arrested in Chechnya,” BBC, 7 February 2006. [10] “Anti-aircraft system
among weekend’s arms finds in Chechnya,” BBC, 22 May
2006. [11] See also “Two
Suspected of Making Mines for Rebels Arrested in Chechnya,” BBC, 5
January 2006; “Russian Forces in Chechnya Arrest Suspected Rebels in
Security Sweeps,” Associated Press, 15 January 2006; “Cache
with 11 Kilograms of Plastic Explosives Discovered,” Ros Business
Consulting, 17 January 2006; “Large Base of Rebels Destroyed in
Mountains of Southern Chechnya,” Chechnya.Ru, 13 February 2006;
“Terrorist Base Destroyed in Chechnya,” Chechnya.Ru, 15
February 2006; “Series of Terror Attacks Prevented in Chechnya,”
RIA-Novosti, 23 February 2006; “Policeman robbed in
Chechnya,” Interfax News Agency, 23 March 2006; “Suspected
Militants Arrested in Chechnya, Penza Region,” Russia and CIS General
Newswire, 16 April 2006. [12] Ilyas Asuyev, “Chechen
police avert terror acts by seizing large cache,” Itar-Tass World
Service (Grozny), 16 June 2006. [13] “Russian agencies
report shooting, arrest in North Caucasus,” BBC, 9 June 2006. [14] “Anti-aircraft system
among weekend’s arms finds in Chechnya,” BBC, 22 May
2006. [15] “Sappers Defuse
Thousands of Landmines during Chechnya Campaign,” Itar-Tass, 20
January 2006. [16] Ibid; “North Caucasus
Security Watch,” RIA-Novosti, 20 January 2006. [17] See for example, “Four
Russian Soldiers, Two Police Killed in Chechnya,” Agence
France-Presse, 5 August 2005; “An explosion in Chechnya: One Killed,
Four Wounded,” Chechnya.Ru, 4 September 2005; “Nine Die in
Chechen Fighting,” Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia), 19 October
2005; “Pre-election Explosions in Chechnya,” Nezavisimaya
Gazeta, 21 November 2005; “Five Russian Soldiers Killed in
Chechnya,” Agence France-Presse, 4 December 2005; “Four
Wounded in Chechnya,” Caucasian Knot, 16 January 2006; “Rebel
Website Says Three Russian Troops Killed in Chechnya,” BBC, 17
February 2006; “Rebels Report Killing 13 Troops in Clashes in Southern
Chechnya,” BBC, 15 March 2006; “Two Russian Soldiers Killed,
Five Wounded in Chechnya Clash,” Agence France-Presse, 16 April
2006. [18] See for example,
“Chechen Protesters Demand Compensation for Destroyed Homes,”
Agence France-Presse, 11 August 2005; “Three Servicemen Wounded in
Explosion near Chechen Village,” Itar-Tass, 10 September 2005;
“Seven Russian Soldiers Dead in Chechnya Fighting,” Agence
France-Presse, 3 October 2005; “Four Russian Soldiers, Two Police Dead
in Chechnya Fighting,” Agence France-Presse, 7 November 2005;
“Russian Officer Killed by Mine Blast in Chechnya,” BBC, 20
December 2005; “Seven Russian Soldiers Killed in Chechnya,”
Agence France-Presse, 10 January 2006; “Five Soldiers and One
Policeman Killed in Chechnya,” KavkazCenter.com, 4 February 2006.
[19] “Over 800 Rebels
Killed by Russian Landmines Since 1999,” BBC, 20 January 2006. [20] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 941. [21] Interview with Russian
delegation to the fourteenth session of the CCW Group of Government Experts,
Geneva, 23 June 2006; translation provided by the Russian delegation and notes
by HRW. [22] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, pp. 1186-1187. [23] Col. Konashenkov stated,
“Fighting back the rebel forces, which invaded Dagestan in August 1999,
and carrying out the antiterrorist operation in Chechnya, the military engineers
set up over 200 kilometers of minefields which killed over 800 rebels.”
“Over 800 Rebels Killed by Russian Landmines Since 1999,”
BBC, 20 January 2006; “Three Suspected Militants Detained in
Russian Region Bordering Chechnya,” Associated Press, 20 January
2006. [24] Under Protocol V of the
Convention on Conventional Weapons, explosive remnants of war are defined as
unexploded ordnance and abandoned explosive ordnance. Mines are explicitly
excluded from the definition. [25] UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “Inter-Agency Transitional
Workplan for the North Caucasus, Russian Federation, 2006,” undated, p.
34; UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action: North Caucasus donor update,” 13
March 2006; UNICEF, “Mine Incident Monitor, Chechnya, Russian Federation
Quarterly Report,” Moscow, May 2006, p. 2. [26] UN, “Country Profile:
Russian Federation (Chechnya),” 3 January 2006, www.mineaction.org, accessed 20 January
2006. [27] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 858. [28] UNICEF, “Summary
Report 2005, IO’s and NGO’s Activities in the Russian
Federation,” 2006, p. 2, citing UN, “Humanitarian Appeal 2005:
Mid-Year review, Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (North
Caucasus–Russian Federation),” www.ocha.ru. [29] “Major-General
Alexander Krasnikov, Head of the Engineering Troops of the North Caucasian
Military District, Hero of Russia, About the Activities of his
Subordinates,” WPS Russian Media Monitoring Agency, 6 March 2006,
www.wps.ru/en. [30] UNOCHA, “Inter-Agency
Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus, Russian Federation, 2006,”
undated, p. 34; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 859. [31] UNOCHA, “OCHA
Humanitarian action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian
Federation),” 31 March 2006, www.reliefweb.int, 1 June 2006. [32] “The Russian Defense
Ministry is developing a new gadget to identify explosive devices on
railroads,” RIA-Novosti, Zagoryanka Village (Moscow region), 3
August 2005. [33] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101 (September 2005), www.ocha.ru, accessed 15 June 2006. [34] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
Assistant Project Officer, Child Protection Section, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 5
May 2006; UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action: North Caucasus donor
update,” 13 March 2006. [35] UN Mine Action Service
(UNMAS), “Russian Federation (Chechnya),” Fact sheet, updated 4 May
2006, www.mineaction.org, accessed 15
June 2006. [36] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
Appeal 2005: Mid-Year review, Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (North
Caucasus–Russian Federation).” [37] UN, “2006 Portfolio of
Mine Action Projects,” New York, p. 454; email from Aida Ailarova,
Assistant Project Officer, Mine Action, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 28 April
2005. [38] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, pp. 943-946 for details of ongoing programs. [39] UNOCHA, “2006
Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus,” p. 82; email
from Eliza Murtazaeva, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 5 May 2006; UNICEF Programme in
the North Caucasus, Activity Reports No. 98, June 2005 and No. 102, October
2005. [40] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Reports No. 104, December 2005-January 2006, and No.
107, April 2006; email from Eliza Murtazaeva, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 5 May
2006. [41] Information obtained from
monthly reports by DRC/DDG and OCHA, www.reliefweb.int. [42] Email from Paul Mackintosh,
Head, DDG, 19 July 2006. [43] Ibid. [44] ICRC, “Plan of Action
2006, Russian Federation,” p. 14. [45] ICRC, “Special
Report-Mine Action 2005,” May 2006, pp. 13, 16. [46] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation) Feb
2006;”
UNICEF Programme in the North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 107, April 2006.
[47] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 5 May 2006; UNICEF, “Humanitarian Action: North
Caucasus donor update,” 13 March 2006; see Landmine Monitor Report
2005, p. 945. [48] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 97, May 2005. [49] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101, September 2005. [50] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 5 May 2006. [51] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 946. [52] Mine Action Investments
database; email from Rita Helmich-Olesen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 March
2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: US$1 = DKK 5.9953. US Federal Reserve,
“List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2006. [53] Mine Action Investments
database; email from Paula Sirkiä, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 16 March
2006. Average exchange rate for 2005: €1 = US$1.2449, used throughout
this report. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),”
3 January 2006. [54] Germany Article 7 Report,
Form J, 27 April 2006; Mine Action Investments database. [55] UN, “2004 Portfolio of
Mine Action Projects,” New York, pp. 408-409; UNMAS, “Final End-Year
Review 2005,” p. 2. UNICEF reported receiving funds totaling $1,035,145
in 2004; see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 946. [56] “Revised End of year
Update,” (2005) received by email from Katrine Hoyer, Associate Expert,
UNMAS, 11 July 2006. See Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 946. [57] “Revised End of year
Update,” (2005) received by email from
Katrine Hoyer, UNMAS, 11 July
2006. [58] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006; data provided by Zaur Tsitsaev,
Programme Assistant, Child Protection/Mine Action, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29
June 2006. [59] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, pp. 946-947. [60] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101, September 2005. [61] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006; data provided by Zaur Tsitsaev, UNICEF
Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006. [62]“ Un militaire
engagé a été blessé lors d’une explosion
accidentelle dans le district d’Itoum-Kale” (“Soldier injured
in an accidental explosion in Itoum-Kale district”), Itar-Tas
(Grozny), 5 April 2006. [63] UNICEF, “Mine Incident
Monitor, Chechnya, Russian Federation Quarterly Report,” Moscow, May 2006,
p. 2. [64] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 947. [65] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101, September 2005; UNICEF, “Mine
Incident Monitor–Quarterly Report May 2006,” 30 April 2006, p. 2;
email from Eliza Murtazaeva, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006; see
Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 946. [66] UNICEF Programme in the
North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101, September 2005; UNICEF, “Mine
Incident Monitor–Quarterly Report, Activity Report No. 104, December
2005-January 2006; email from Eliza Murtazaeva, UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29
June 2006. The database is continually being updated as both new and less
recent mine incidents are identified. [67] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, pp. 947-948. [68] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation),” 31
December 2005. [69] ICRC, “Annual Report
2005,” Geneva, June 2006, pp. 19, 211. [70] Ibid, pp. 245, 247. [71] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation),” 31
December 2005. [72] “German doctors to
operate on 120 Chechen children,” Agence France-Presse (Grozny), 4
April 2006. [73] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Program, “Annual Report 2005,” Geneva, draft received 19 May 2006,
p. 31. [74] ICRC, “Annual Report
2005,” Geneva, June 2006, pp. 245, 247; ICRC, “Special Report-Mine
Action,” Geneva, May 2006, p. 23; ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Program,
“Annual Report 2005,” Geneva, draft received 19 May 2006, p. 31. [75] ICRC, “Annual Report
2005,” Geneva, June 2006, pp. 211, 244-248. [76] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006. [77] Emails from Violaine Gagnet,
Regional Coordinator, HI North Caucasus, 19 and 29 June 2006; WHO, “Health
Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter on Emergency Preparedness and
Response, October-December 2005. For details of HI’s program in
Chechnya, see Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 949. [78] Emails from Violaine Gagnet,
HI North Caucasus, 19 and 29 June 2006. [79] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1197. [80] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2005, p. 950. [81] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation),” 31
December 2005. [82] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006. [83] UNOCHA, “Humanitarian
action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation),” April
2006. [84] Email from Eliza Murtazaeva,
UNICEF Northern Caucasus, 29 June 2006. [85] Ibid. [86] UNICEF Humanitarian
Programme in the North Caucasus, Activity Report No. 101, September 2005. [87] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation
Program, “Annual Report 2005,” Geneva, draft received 19 May 2006,
p. 28; ICRC, “Annual Report 2005,” Geneva, June 2006, p. 222. See
report on Azerbaijan in this edition of Landmine Monitor. [88] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1198.
About Us
Our Research Products