By empty (4/22/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Malik Saidullaev, chairman of the Moscow-based Chechen State Council, told journalists on 19 April that he could raise $100 million to invest in reconstruction of the infrastructure in Chechnya, and that other Chechen businessmen in Russia and abroad are ready to invest up to $500 million. Saidullaev also said that he considers it possible to expedite the construction of prefabricated housing and thus enable displaced Chechens now in camps in Ingushetia to return to Chechnya by the end of this year. (RFE/RL).

By empty (4/22/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russian troops apprehended Islam Khasukhanov, chief of general staff of the Chechen armed forces, during a special operation in the town of Shali late on 21 April. Khasukhanov is a former Russian naval captain who was one of three candidates to command the ill-fated "Kursk" submarine. Khasukhanov reportedly resigned his commission in 1999 after being passed over for that posting because he was a Chechen.

By empty (4/22/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Major-General Aleksandr Yevteev, who is acting commander of the Russian peacekeeping force deployed under the CIS aegis in the Abkhaz conflict zone, ignored on 22 April a request by Georgian displaced persons from Abkhazia to meet with them in the west Georgian town of Zugdidi to discuss their grievances. The displaced persons warned that if Yevteev fails to meet with them by 24 April they will again blockade the bridge across the Inguri River that marks the internal border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. (Caucasus Press).