Russia to boost Chechnya forces

Russian soldiers have been fighting Chechen guerrillas for a decade

Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid a rare visit to Chechnya and pledged to send extra troops following the assassination of a key ally there.

Mr Putin described the killing of Moscow-backed Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov as a "lesson" to Russia.

More than 1,000 extra Russian troops will be sent to the Caucasus republic.

Chechen guerrillas fighting Moscow's rule have been blamed for Sunday's bomb attack in the capital Grozny, in which at least seven people died.

The latest victim was a young boy who died of head injuries, hospital officials said.

Blow to Russia

Recent estimates suggest there are up to 80,000 Russian troops in Chechnya.

This figure includes regular soldiers and the Kremlin-backed Chechen militias that work alongside them, according to Tom de Waal from the Institute of War and Peace Reporting.

But exact numbers for the Russian military presence are not available.

Plans to move the injured Russian commander Valery Baranov to Moscow have been delayed because of his critical condition.

We... are appealing to you, dear fellow countrymen, to close our ranks even more tightly and become a monolith in the struggle against the international evil of terrorism Chechnya's Moscow-backed State Council What next for Chechnya?

He was due to have been evacuated to Moscow for further treatment on Tuesday, but is now likely to leave on Wednesday, the Russian military said.

Gen Baranov, Moscow's top military commander in the region, was at a victory ceremony with President Kadyrov when a bomb blast ripped through their enclosure at a stadium in Grozny.

Mr Kadyrov, a Muslim cleric who once sided with the separatists before switching to become the Kremlin's favoured son in Chechnya, died almost instantly.

Correspondents say the bombing has left Russia's Chechnya policy in tatters, after President Putin had claimed to have silenced the separatists.

Separatist threat

Russia's chief election commissioner has announced fresh elections will be held to select a new president by the first Sunday of September this year.

For the time being, the slain leader's son Ramzan Kadyrov has been elevated to deputy head of the government.

AKHMAD KADYROV Born in Kazakhstan in 1951 Studied Islam and became Chechnya's mufti in 1995 Sacked as mufti in 1999 after falling out with separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov Appointed as head of pro-Moscow administration by President Putin Funeral in pictures Russian media nightmare

The succession has been slammed by supporters of Chechnya's separatist guerrillas, who accuse the Kadyrov militia of doing Moscow's dirty work in the republic.

"Judging by the fast-track promotion of Kadyrov-junior into the status of a 'presidential candidate', it appears the Kremlin still believes in miracles," commented the pro-rebel website Kavkaz-Tsentr.

"However, he should hardly hope for a full 'presidential term'. There are too many people in Chechnya who would sacrifice their lives in order to take his," it said.

Skirmishes

The Kremlin-backed Chechen State Council appealed to the people to close ranks tightly and "become a monolith in the struggle against the international evil of terrorism".

Russia has been fighting separatists in Chechnya since the republic first tried to break away in the 1990s.

Clashes have continued since Sunday's attack, with Itar-Tass news agency reporting a rebel attack on a Russian checkpoint which left two soldiers dead.

The Russian military, in turn, claims to have located and destroyed two bases used by the guerrillas.