Hunger strike of forced migrants from Chechnya in Ingushetia, accidental explosion of teenagers in Starye Atagi

June 25-26, 2001

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The hunger strike of forced migrants from Chechnya, temporarily residing in Ingushetia, continued. The main demand of the participants of the action is the cessation of hostilities and the beginning of negotiations with the President of the CRI, Aslan Maskhadov. In addition, they seek an end to "cleansing operations", illegal detention and disappearances of people.

The psychological state of internally displaced persons living both in camps and in the private sector on the territory of Ingushetia is extremely difficult. On the one hand, people want to return home as soon as possible, on the other hand, they do not consider it possible to do so as long as the killings of civilians continue. The forced migrants are especially concerned about the plans of the Russian authorities and the government of Chechnya to return all residents of the republic to their permanent place of residence as soon as possible.

This action acquired a massive character on the evening of June 14. By that time, one of the internally displaced persons, Mahmud Abdulshaidov, had been on hunger strike for 18 days, but there were no reports of this. The mass media began to pay attention to the hunger strike only when dozens of people resorted to it. As of June 24, 232 people were already on hunger strike, including three underage girls.

On the evening of June 24, the leaders of the public organizations "Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship", "Sintar", the Chechen Committee of National Salvation (ChCNS), with the participation of the imams of the mosques of the tent camps "Satsita" and "Sputnik" held a rally. It sounded the same demands that were put forward by the starving. At the same time, representatives of public organizations and the clergy called for an end to the action. First of all, they turned to the children, explaining that their participation in it does not comply with the canons of Islam.

As a result, by June 25, 200 people agreed to end the hunger strike. So far, 33 people have refused to eat (another one began to starve that day), including three girls. Chairman of the ChCNS Ruslan Badalov talked to them, persuaded the children and their parents to stop the hunger strike immediately. On this day, three starving girls were taken to the hospital. The condition of one of them is alarming. Together with the children, the father of another girl with cancer was also taken away.

Starving people are deprived of full medical supervision. Moreover, in the evening and at night, medical assistance is not provided to them at all. In connection with the possibility of provocations against the participants of the action, Ruslan Badalov asked the police officers to organize duty at this place at least at night.

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On June 26, in the evening, in the village of Starye Atagi, Grozny district, nine teenagers and young men aged 12 to 16 blew themselves up while trying to dismantle an explosive device found. The explosion occurred in the courtyard of an abandoned house on Nuradilov Street, where they usually gathered in the evenings to smoke and play cards.
14-year-old Ibragim Kuntaev died of numerous shrapnel wounds the same evening in a rural hospital. A day later, 15-year-old Magomed Matsiyev died from a shrapnel wound to the head in a hospital in Mozdok. The rest of the teenagers received shrapnel wounds of varying severity.

From the book "People Live Here", Usam Baisaev, Dmitry Grushkin, 2006