August 18, 2001

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In the village of Novye Atagi and the village of Chiri-Yurt, the Russian military carried out operations accompanied by mass robberies of local residents.

It all started with the fact that on August 17 at 9 pm in the villages of Novye Atagi, Starye Atagi, Chiri-Yurt, Duba-Yurt and in the city of Shali, the electricity was cut off. At 11:30 p.m., the military entered Novye Atagi and began to loot the houses of local residents, choosing large and well-furnished ones. In total there were up to 60 people in camouflage uniforms, with their faces covered with masks and with dogs. Most, according to local residents, were in a state of intoxication. The village was blocked by up to 20 units of armored vehicles and vehicles: armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, Ural, UAZ-452 (the so-called tablet) and Zhiguli of the sixth and seventh models.

The houses of the following villagers were robbed:
1. Aina Dangaevna Gazieva, born in 1939 (St. Ordzhonikidzevskaya, 37). From there they took away gold things, money, clothes. There were small children in the house. After a night visit by the Russian military, one boy began to stutter.
2. Shaiman (Shaimy) Yusupovna Chimkaeva, born in 1948 (St. Ordzhonikidzevskaya, 39 (19)). Stole valuables.
3. Louise Ramzanovna Zukhaeva, born in 1963 (St. Ordzhonikidzevskaya, 19 (95)). They took away sheepskin coats, a mink hat, two watches and money. There were also small children in the house, who were frightened by the intrusion of a large number of armed men.
4. Ibragima Imranov, born in 1929 (Lenin St., 95). Items were stolen (leather jackets, jackets, shoes) that the owner was selling at the market, $4,000 and 80,000 rubles, three gold watches and other valuables. When leaving, the military took with them the sons of the owner of the house: Idris Ibragimovich Imranov, born in 1968. and Movladi Ibragimovich Imranov, born in 1959 All the other members of the family were pushed into a separate room with machine gun butts. The detained brothers were taken to the outskirts of the village and thrown into the field (according to other sources, they managed to escape).
5. Indarbievs (Klubnaya st.). Valuables were stolen. The Indarbiev brothers were detained: Shamkhan and Shamil, as well as Shamkhan's 18-year-old son.
6. Umarovs (Lenin street). Valuables stolen. Visit Umarov and his sons, Aslan and Beslan, were taken away from the house.

At about three o'clock, the military blew up two bridges across the Argun River between Novye and Starye Atagi and crossed into the village of Chiri-Yurt. Here they used the same robbery tactics as in Novye Atagi. In addition to everything in the morning, at about 11.30, from the location of the commandant's office (house 28) in the center of the village, where the market is located, a shot was fired from an underbarrel grenade launcher. Two local residents were seriously injured. In Chiri-Yurt, three people were detained during the “cleansing” operation: Imran Makhmadov with his son (house 16) and a man named Mahdi, 60 years old (house 11).

The operation ended at noon. The column of armored vehicles and the military began to leave Chiri-Yurt at about 1 pm. At the same time, a Ural car fell off the dam in the gorge near the Argun River. On August 20, the heads of the administrations of the villages of Novye Atagi and Chiri-Yurt managed to establish that the “special operation” was carried out by officers of the VOVD of the Shali district and the DON unit stationed between the villages of Serzhen-Yurt and the city of Shali. The operation was led by the commandant of the Shalinsky district, Major General Gennady Alexandrovich Nakhaev (Nakhimov). All the detainees were released, except for Beslan Umarov and one of the Indarbievs.

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During the "cleansing" in the city of Urus-Martan, officers of the VOVD of the Urus-Martan District illegally searched the house located at 18 Proletarskaya St. (the owners are the Makhmatkhazhiyevs).

The militiamen did not submit a resolution for its production, they did not invite attesting witnesses. In front of several people, they planted an RGD grenade without a fuse. Witnesses of this were: Khumid Khamidovich Makhmatkhazhiyev, Ayub Khumidovich Makhmatkhazhiyev, Zarema Khumidovna Makhmatkhazhieva, Svetlana Makhmatkhazhieva, Zarema Nasrudievna Betelgereeva, Khazan Betelsoldovna Dakaeva. After that, they invited their own employees as alleged witnesses and drew up a protocol of the search. It was proposed to be signed by Muslim Khumidovich Makhmatkhazhiyev, born in 1974. At the same time, he was required to recognize the grenade as his own. He refused to do so. The policemen detained him, saying: “You can sign there anyway.”

Muslim Makhmatkhazhiev was taken to the temporary detention facility at the VOVD of the Urus-Martan district. The family of the detained young man is known for their loyalty to the federal government.

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At noon, an armored troop-carrier with military men deliberately drove into the trading rows of a small market in the workers' settlement of the city of Argun. According to the stories of local residents, the officer sitting upstairs gave the command to the driver: “Crush them!” However, he objected: “How can I, for living people, for products?” The officer cursed him obscenely and threatened to shoot him if he did not comply with the order. The armored personnel carrier set off and began to demolish the malls. The female saleswomen who heard this skirmish, throwing their goods, began to scatter. After some time, the armored car stopped, the military picked up and loaded the remaining food and goods and left.

From the book "People Live Here", Usam Baisaev, Dmitry Grushkin, 2006