Power agents report sending 500 militaries from Chechnya to Syria

500 servicemen of the joint detachment of military have left Chechnya for Syria, a source from the republic's power agencies told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On December 6, a video was posted on the Internet, confirming that the militaries departed to Syria from a suburb of Grozny.

The source has noted that "the detachment sent to Syria consists mainly of the servicemen of military units of the Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) recruited from among local residents."

"In particular, a joint detachment of military police has been dent to Syria. It comprises the servicemen, who had served in the mechanized infantry brigade of the MoD, stationed in Khankala and Borzoi," said a law enforcement source.

He drew attention to the December 8 statement of Ramzan Kadyrov, who reminded that "in Chechnya, there are no battalions 'East' and 'West' (the fact of sending to Syria of fighters of these battalions was reported on December 8 by the newspaper "Izvestia", – note of the "Caucasian Knot")."

"However, most of the militaries sent to Syria are former fighters of these battalions," said the source.

The interviewed residents of Chechnya have suggested that the soldiers had been sent to Syria "in the voluntary-compulsory manner."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.