Russians open fire on Chechen bus
Russian soldiers in in the breakaway region of Chechnya have opened fire on a passenger bus, killing its driver and wounding four passengers, officials said today.
The shooting happened yesterday between the town of Argun and Gudermes. Three women were among the dead, said an official with the Moscow-appointed Chechen administration.
The soldiers were arrested and an investigation was launched, he added.
Edi Isayev, a liaison between Moscow and the Chechen administration, said the soldiers opened fire as the bus neared a Russian military checkpoint.
In a separate incident, two villagers in Novogroznenskoye, east of Grozny, were killed in shelling yesterday, Isayev said. He said the artillery came from a mountain ridge above the village, where federal forces are located.
Human rights groups have strongly criticised the Russian military for its heavy use of force and frequent abuses of civilians in Chechnya, including unjustified arrests, beatings, torture and disappearances of people who have no rebel connections.
Russian officials insist the abuses are rare and that all culprits are duly punished.
Despite Moscow’s assurances that life in Chechnya is returning to normal more than three years since the war’s start, daily clashes continue as the rebels unleash raids, ambushes and mine explosions against federal forces.
