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TITLE: Body Count in Chechen Mass Grave Rises to 60 |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: Agence France Presse |
DATE: March 8, 2001 |
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The number of bodies found in a mass grave unearthed near the Chechen capital of Grozny has risen to 60, of which only 12 have been identified, ITAR-TASS quoted the republic's pro-Moscow prosecutor as saying Wednesday. The previous official total of bodies in the grave found February 25 in wasteland, one kilometer (mile) from the Russian base at Khankala, on the outskirts of the capital Grozny, had been 48. Chechen prosecutor Vsevolod Chernov has argued that the dead were "probably" rebel fighters, on the grounds that "many of them are in internationally-made camouflage and Turkish underwear." The Russian authorities have long accused the Chechen separatists of obtaining supplies and recruits from Islamic organizations in countries such as Turkey. But the Russian human rights group Memorial argues that the majority of the dead were civilians, challenging Chernov's hypothesis on the grounds that medical evidence showed the victims had died since February 2000 when Russian forces took Grozny and Khankala. END |