Chechen authorities report militant families' return from Syria

On November 13, women and children were brought by air from Syria to Grozny; among them there are 34 Russian citizens and seven citizens of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that relatives of women and children, who were in Syria, gathered in Chechnya, at the Grozny Airport, to meet them on November 13.

"Earlier, we managed to evacuate 48 people out of hot spots of Syria and Iraq... Thus, we've returned 89 persons to their families," Mr Kadyrov wrote in his Instagram.

The RIA "Novosti" has added that among 41 passengers brought by the special flight there are 12 women.

The arrivals include children aged from two months to 14 years, the Senator Ziyad Sabsabi, the Chechen leader's representative for the countries of the Middle East and Northern Africa, has explained.

According to his story, "no one can guarantee" that the rescued women will not be held criminally liable.

"If they had violated the law before they left Russia, and criminal cases had been initiated against them, they should be brought to trial," The TASS quotes Mr Sabsabi as saying.

There is no exact data on the number of Chechen women and children in the Middle East, said an employee of a local NGO. According to her story, there are lists with more than 600 names, "but they are far from being complete."

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