Abdul-Khalim Saidullayev, the head of a self-styled Chechen rebel government, was killed yesterday in a gunbattle with pro-Russian forces in Chechnya that officials called a major setback to armed separatists in the war-torn south Russian province.
"We are standing right beside his body, which has been identified by people who knew Saidullayev well," the police chief in the Chechen city of Argun where the rebel leader was killed was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
Other top local and federal officials confirmed the death of Saidullayev, a little-known figure believed to be in his mid-30s who took over as "president" of Ichkeria -- the name for Chechnya used by separatist forces there -- in March last year.
Local officials said one other rebel fighter was killed with Saidullayev and Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian FSB security service, which took part in the operation, said in Moscow that one FSB agent and one local police officer also died in the gunfight.
The killing of Saidullayev was trumpeted by leaders of the Moscow-backed official government of the province, with Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov claiming that rebel forces there had "been dealt a decisive blow from which they will never recover."
"The terrorists have practically been beheaded," Interfax news agency quoted Kadyrov as saying.
Independent experts agreed that the killing of Saidullayev was a significant success for the pro-Russian forces now nearing the seven-year mark of a low-intensity war with rebels who are fighting for Chechnya's independence from the Russian Federation, but downplayed its impact.
"It is a heavy blow to the rebels, but not as important a blow as the killing of Basayev or Umarov would be," said Yulia Latynina, a respected expert on the Russian North Caucasus region, referring to Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev and key rebel leader Doku Umarov.
Although he was the hand-picked successor of Chechen rebel political leader Aslan Maskhadov, slain by Russian forces last year, Saidullayev was not well known even in Chechnya and was not regarded by experts there or outside the province as having much real control over the rebels.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft