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GUDERMES (AFP) - The new representative from Chechnya to Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said Tuesday that undisciplined federal forces were killing innocent Chechen civilians at will. "As a deputy, I would first like to restore the morale of the Russian army fighting in Chechnya," said Aslanbek Aslakhanov, declared winner in Sunday's election according to preliminary results. "The murder of innocent civilians and marauding have become a normal way of living life among servicemen," he said. The Chechen election commission said more than 50% of the electorate had voted in the poll for the seat in Russia's lower house of parliament, vacant since 1996. Islamist leader Aslan Maskhadov, however, said on Sunday that less than 5% of the population had voted, and said the "election has absolutely no value." Federal troops rumbled into Chechnya in a self-declared bid to destroy suspected terrorist basis. The operation has been widely condemned by Western Human Rights groups for the heavy civilian toll that followed. Aslakhanov is a reserve police general and also has served as the head of a local police association. He is also reported to hold a doctorate in law. |
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