Translated material
Battle by misunderstanding
Ingush and Chechen policemen did not separate at the border
Seven people were killed and 15 were wounded yesterday afternoon on the border of Chechnya and Ingushetia as a result of a fierce exchange of fire between policemen of these republics. High-ranking intelligence officials from both sides spent the entire day yesterday trying to figure out what caused such a violent clash. However, the colleagues did not come to a single version. According to the Ingush side, a large armed detachment of Chechen riot police, on the way out of Ingushetia, fired at a traffic police post after the guards asked the Chechens to present documents. According to opponents, the police were on the territory of Ingushetia legally, all their IDs were in order, and the Ingush patrolmen were the first to open fire.The Prosecutor's Office of Ingushetia opened a criminal case regarding the use of violence against police officers under the articles “murder” and “abuse of official authority.” Meanwhile, the Ingushetian authorities qualified the shootout as a fatal mistake and expressed hope that it would not become a reason for aggravation of relations. And the Chairman of the Government of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, assessed the incident as a consequence of shortcomings in the actions of law enforcement agencies of both republics.
The details of the quarrel that became the reason for the massacre on the administrative border of the Sunzha region of Ingushetia and the Achkhoy-Martan region of Chechnya are still unclear. So far, it is only known that the incident began to flare up around 11 a.m., when Chechen riot police in a Gazelle approached the Volga-20 checkpoint. Further, the opinions of Ingush and Chechen security officials differ.
According to the first version, a police officer from the Sunzhensky District Department of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia, Magomed Khadziev, stopped the Gazelle and asked the people in camouflage to show their documents. The Chechen operatives showed him his official ID. However, looking around the car, the policeman noticed two people with bags on their heads and handcuffed hands in the depths of the car. The quarrel, which then escalated into a battle, began after the Chechen police officers refused to present documents (travel cards, combat list, etc.) justifying their entry into Ingushetia and the detention of anyone. In response to the refusal, the Ingush policemen blocked the car’s path, and Khadziev began calling for reinforcements on the radio. At that moment, one of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs officers allegedly shot point-blank at Khadziev, and the car took off and disappeared into the territory of Chechnya. And soon after that, the Chechen police returned with help and began to fire at the checkpoint.
Chechen police officers have different data. As Artur Akhmadov, the commander of the riot police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya, said yesterday, “the riot police received a request from the Leninsky District Department of Internal Affairs of Grozny to provide forceful cover for the detention in Ingushetia and the delivery of a resident of this republic to the Chechen capital. The suspect, according to him, was wanted for crimes related to the theft of cars from Chechnya, changing their license plates and selling cars. “At the checkpoint at the entrance to the territory of Ingushetia, the squad presented documents and registered. In the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, where the detention took place, the events were carried out with the participation of the local district police officer, and the head of the village administration was informed,” noted Mr. Akhmadov. On the way back, stopping at a checkpoint, the Chechen police officers explained to their Ingush colleagues that they had already registered. However, at that moment the riot policeman who was speaking was allegedly shot at point-blank range. At the same time, according to Mr. Akhmadov, the Chechen police did not return fire, but got into the car and drove away. The special forces reported to their superiors about the incident at the border, and 20 minutes later the Gazelle returned to the scene, accompanied by two police UAZs. According to the Chechen side, the Ingush guards, without warning, immediately opened heavy fire on the vehicles, and the policemen in them were forced to shoot back. As it turned out later, the leadership of the Sunzhensky and Achkhoy-Martan district police departments of Chechnya, as well as the deputy chief of the Chechen riot police, arrived in UAZs.
Who exactly and how managed to stop the massacre remained unknown yesterday.
As a result of a fierce shootout, a police officer of the Sunzhensky District Department of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia, four riot policemen of Chechnya and an employee of the special police regiment No. 2 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs died on the spot. On the Ingush side, eight patrolmen were wounded, on the Chechen side, five riot policemen, including the deputy commander of the riot police of Chechnya, Bavudi Dakhiev (after the shootout, he was taken to a hospital in Vladikavkaz in serious condition) and the platoon commander of the PPS regiment of the Achkhoy-Martan district, Badrudi Shimozov (died in the hospital) . During the shootout, two suspected hijackers detained by Chechen special forces were also wounded.
Colleagues were able to take the bodies of the dead from the battlefield only in the evening, after the investigative team left the ill-fated post. The Republican Prosecutor's Office of Ingushetia took over the investigation of the incident. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia Beslan Khamkhoev, the deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya Sultan Satuev, and the prosecutor of Chechnya Valery Kuznetsov visited the scene of the incident yesterday. Only the presence of high-ranking officials calmed the incensed opponents, who blamed each other for what had happened. At the same time, the Ingush police did not deny that they were initially “on edge” because of the conflict that occurred on September 7 in the same Sunzhensky district of Ingushetia. Then, at the Azov-52 checkpoint, a fight allegedly took place between Ingush patrol officers and the security guards of the Chechen prime minister, however, everything happened without the use of weapons and no casualties.
Meanwhile, the authorities of both republics yesterday refrained from making loud statements on the topic of “who is wrong and who is right,” deciding not to escalate the situation with mutual accusations. President of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov said that the incident between police officers was a tragic mistake that should not lead to increased tension in relations between the two republics. He said that during Wednesday he discussed what happened several times with Chechen President Alu Alkhanov and Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. “We have the situation under control. What happened should not in any way affect the fraternal relations between the peoples of the two republics,” said the President of Ingushetia.
In turn, Ramzan Kadyrov called the incident “a misunderstanding and the result of shortcomings in the law enforcement agencies of the two republics.” “A detailed consideration of this extraordinary incident is necessary,” Mr. Kadyrov said, emphasizing that the incident “will not affect the relationship between the two neighboring fraternal peoples.”