22.11.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. Chechen fighters’ groups are stationed in three villages of Shahumian region of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic occupied by Azerbaijan as well as in Sadarak village of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and Armenian Artvashen village which is also under the control of Azerbaijan.
Such a statement was made by politologist Igor Muradian to the Armenian “Aravot” daily. He estimated these steps as provocative and called upon Russia to deliver to Armenia the state-of-art attack helicopters. Mr Muradian stated that the armed forces of Armenia have to start a “preventive” strike on the Chechen bases.
This is not the first such statement by Muradian on existence of Chechen fighters along some parts of Armenian borders. On July 22 of 2000 he said that several hundreds of Chechens are living nowadays in Shahumian district of RNK, occupied by Azerbaijan, and they have already had conflicts with Azeris from the neighboring regions.
According to Muradian, the Chechens, living now in Shahumian, are not fighters but refugees. “But it doesn’t mean that fighter bases may not be set up on this ground in the future”, said Muradian. He also declared that the Karabakh army ” must fire at them consistently, until the Chechens have formed military-technical engineer installations in Shahumian”.
On April 28, 2000 Yerevan “Azg” paper reported that Erkej, Buzlukh and Verin Shen villages of Shahumian district of RNK, occupied by Azerbaijan, are being settled by Chechens. “The Azeri authorities have begun the realization of the program on transforming the regions bordering with RNK into military bases for the Chechen fighters”, read the publication.
In 1988 Igor Muradian was one of the leaders of the movement for Karabakh’s unification with Armenia. -0–
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