Over 100 children have been killed and 600 others were injured by landmines in Russia’s breakaway republic of Chechnya over the past decade, according to the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (Unicef).
”Since 1994 through 2004, 717 children were injured by exploding mines in Chechnya, and 114 of them died,” Unicef spokesperson Anna Chernyakhovskaya was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
”We believe landmine safety in Chechnya remains poor,” she added.
After the first armed conflict in Chechnya in 1994-1996, Moscow again poured troops into the rebellious republic in October 1999, quickly getting mired in a brutal guerrilla standoff against various rebel warlords. – Sapa-AFP