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Table of Contents
Country Reports
Chechnya, Landmine Monitor Report 2003

Chechnya

Key developments since May 2002: Russian federal forces and Chechen rebels continued to use antipersonnel landmines. UNICEF and the ICRC continued mine risk education and survivor assistance programs in the North Caucuses. In 2002, the Chechen Ministry of Health reported 5,695 landmine and UXO casualties in Chechnya, including 938 children.

Background

In September 1991, Chechnya declared independence from Russia, and adopted the name Chechen Republic “Ichkeria.” On 11 December 1994, the Russian Federation sent troops into Chechnya where mines were used extensively in the fighting by both sides. Although peace agreements were signed in August 1996, relations remained tense and deteriorated to the point of Russia sending troops back into Chechnya in September 1999. Chechen forces evacuated Grozny in February 2000 and the conflict entered a guerrilla war phase. Fighting, replete with massive violations of human rights and laws of war, including widespread use of mines by both sides, continues.[1]

See Landmine Monitor Report 2001 for details regarding production, trade, and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines in Chechnya; no new information is available.[2]

Use of Mines by Russian Forces

Russian officials admit to large-scale use of mines in Chechnya, but have repeatedly rejected allegations of indiscriminate use by Russian forces.[3] In August 2001, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described mine use in Chechnya by Russian forces to Landmine Monitor:

Mine barriers have been laid to blockade specific base areas used by [rebel] units and to close movement routes and convoy paths across the state border, using fragmentation-action antipersonnel mines with self-destruction mechanisms and control options that comply with requirements in [CCW Amended Protocol II].... Mines are emplaced primarily on sectors of the border where difficult physical and geographical conditions do not permit other forces or methods to be employed effectively, where there are virtually no local inhabitants, and to protect and guard positions and places where border divisions are stationed.”[4]

Russian forces have also deployed antipersonnel mines from airplanes, helicopters, and rockets, resulting in large tracts of mined land that is unmarked and unfenced.[5] This scatterable mining took place in 1999 and 2000.[6]

In early 2002, Russian officials again asserted that antipersonnel mines are always used in compliance with the requirements of Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). They claim all minefields are fenced and marked to prevent civilian casualties, and that once active military operations are over, minefields are cleared.[7] Neither past nor current reports coming out of Chechnya validate these claims.

According to many observers, media reports, and Chechen officials, the Russian Army mines areas and paths leading to troop positions, paths to checkpoints, around commanders’ offices and governmental agencies, and around military garrisons and camps; many places that the Army considers “suspicious” are also mined. Apart from protection, the purpose is largely to restrict access and limit movement through specific checkpoints to control the population.[8]

In July 2002, a Chechen official estimated that Russia had planted approximately three million mines during the Second Chechen War.[9]

Use of Mines by Chechen Rebels

Throughout 2002 and 2003, Chechen rebels continued to use landmines on an almost daily basis against both Russian and civilian targets. The rebels lay mines to disrupt federal convoys and patrols. Roads and bridges are often targeted. Lacking large numbers of mass-produced mines, the rebels most frequently employ improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They are often command-detonated (electrical) devices. On 12 February 2002, Russian forces discovered a hidden plant for the production of mines, booby-traps, and IEDs. The troops reportedly found “glass” fuzes filled with mercury, which act like antihandling devices, blowing up the mine when it is moved.[10]

The rebels continue to use civilians, including children, to plant landmines and other explosive devices against Russian targets.[11] Civilians are reportedly paid for this work on a graduated scale tied to the impact of the explosion; a Russian truck may bring up to $500, while an armored vehicle fetches more than $1,000. In some cases, rebels have used threats and blackmail to compel such civilian help.[12]

Chechen rebels have disguised explosive devices as cigarette packets, cans, videocassettes, and torches, and “plant” these weapons in populated areas.[13] On 9 July 2002, a 13-year-old returning from the local market kicked what he thought was a can of concentrated milk, but he lost his leg in the explosion that followed. Increased use of booby-traps and mines led to the dissemination by Federal officials of a special leaflet warning civilians not to touch or even approach seemingly random objects for fear of explosives. Russian forces have also said they have evidence that Chechen rebels have used Italian-made plastic landmines.[14]

Mine Problem

There has been no effort to comprehensively survey or catalogue the impact of mines in Chechnya. Estimates of the number of mines in Chechnya vary greatly. An exact assessment of where mines are located and in what quantity remains difficult given that battle lines have constantly changed during the years of conflict, as well as other factors, such as seasonal flooding, agriculture use, sporadic and limited clearance, scavenging and reuse, and continued fighting. During his June 2002 trip to Russia, Olara Otunnu, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, called Chechnya “one of the most landmine-polluted zones in the world.” After touring Chechnya and neighboring regions, he said, “We estimate that 500,000 landmines have been planted in Chechnya.”[15]

According to a media report, the engineering service of the North Caucasus military district emplaced 123 minefields in Grozny in 1999 and 2000 (119 antipersonnel minefields, two antitank and two mixed), which have claimed 592 casualties in the last three years. Mines were also widely scattered from helicopters, particularly in Staroshchedrinsky forest in Shelkovskaya district, in the mountainous part of the Nozhai-Yurt and Vedeno districts, and in the foothills of Urus-Martan district.[16]

Mine Clearance

There has been no humanitarian mine clearance in Chechnya since December 1999, when renewed fighting forced the HALO Trust, a British demining NGO, to halt its program. The chaotic military situation and the risk to humanitarian aid workers remain too great for any clearance to be initiated. HALO has indicated that it would recommence mine clearance when a settlement is reached, as it did during the interwar period from 1997-1999.[17]

Deminers from the Russian forces conducted military mine clearance, designed to allow troop movements. Engineer units survey suspected areas on a daily basis and, if necessary, clear some 450 kilometers of roads, as well as railway stations, airfield runways, and helicopter landing sites.[18] In May 2003, a military spokesperson reported that approximately 100 explosive devices, including 20 landmines, are cleared each week.[19] Since 1999, Russian Engineer Units in the North Caucasus have reportedly cleared more than 350,000 landmines and pieces of unexploded ordnance.[20]

Mine Risk Education

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the main international organization providing mine risk education (MRE) in Chechnya and neighboring regions. The ICRC has focused its MRE activities on two groups most at risk: children and returning internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In 2002 and 2003, the ICRC continued to expand and develop the “Cheerdig” character, a young boy known for his wise behavior that the ICRC uses to teach children how to avoid mine-related injuries. Cheerdig was featured in a new comic book distributed in 2002 and in “Danger, Mines – The New Adventures of Cheerdig,” an educational show at the Chechen Puppet Theater.[21] The ICRC has also used child-to-child activities to spread MRE messages. Outside of Chechnya, the ICRC conducts MRE programs for the displaced populations in Ingushetia and for children taking vacation in the northern Caucuses. The ICRC has held a poster contest for Chechen schoolchildren, with the four best posters to be displayed outside local mosques.[22]

The ICRC has distributed MRE leaflets and instructions to adult leaders of IDP communities in Ingushetia. The warnings and suggestions instruct those intending to return home to seek information on known mine-affected areas from locals beforehand.[23] In 2002, the ICRC began working directly with the Imams of the most mine-affected areas of Chechnya, training them in MRE and providing them with MRE materials to distribute. The Imams do not receive financial compensation for their involvement in such programs.[24]

In 2002 and 2003, UNICEF supported MRE activities for children living in IDP camps in Ingushetia. UNICEF’s implementing partners, local NGOs Let’s Save the Generation (LSG) and Voice of the Mountains (VoM), and others have distributed and displayed MRE materials provided by UNICEF, including posters and notebooks, in the camps, on buses and in bus stops.[25] In May 2003, VoM intensified MRE activities at Ingushetia IDP camps in preparation for the expected movement of children back to Chechnya in the summer.[26] In 2002 and 2003, IDP children attended regular dramatic performances using MRE messages at the Russian Academic Theater in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia.[27] LSG also conducts MRE for children, by providing weekly bus trips to Vladikavkaz, where children learn of the danger of landmines through theatrical performances and other presentations, tailored to the children of a specific community and in their native language. LSG also provides informational booklets on mine awareness to IDPs in the camps.[28]

In October 2002, there were reports that hundreds of MRE warning posters produced by UNICEF for Chechnya were not being used because the UNICEF Coordinator in Moscow was concerned the posters could be used by Chechen rebels to deceive Russian troops.[29]

The Danish Demining Group provided MRE in 2002 to 64,576 Chechen IDPs in Ingushetia and 55,124 persons in Chechnya. It also trained 153 schoolteachers from Chechnya.[30]

Landmine Casualties

The Ministry of Health of Chechnya reported that 5,695 landmine and UXO casualties were registered by health facilities in 2002, including 938 children of which 125 were killed. In 2001, officials report that there were 2,140 landmine and UXO casualties.[31] Landmine Monitor recorded about 300 mine/UXO casualties in Chechnya from international media sources in 2002. In 2001, Landmine Monitor collated data on 1,153 mine/UXO casualties.[32]

In 2002, UNICEF recorded 244 new mine/UXO casualties, of which 21 people were killed and 223 injured; 115 were men, 36 were women, and 93 were children. Antipersonnel mines were responsible for 100 casualties, 14 were caused by antivehicle mines, 59 by UXO, eight by booby-trap, and the cause of 62 casualties is unknown.[33] In 2001, UNICEF recorded 154 new civilian casualties, of which 21 were killed and 133 injured.[34] As of July 2003, the UNICEF database contains information on 2,281 mine and UXO casualties in Chechnya, of which 464 were killed and 1,817 injured.[35] UNICEF reports that around 34 percent of mine/UXO casualties require an amputation as a result of their injuries, and the 15 to 29-year-old age group is the most affected.[36] The majority of casualties have been recorded in Grozny. VoM is the focal point for the collection of mine casualty data which is provided by the WHO, the ICRC, Danish Demining Group, and several other local NGOs, including LSG, working in IDP camps and in the territory of Chechnya. VoM maintains the database in Ingushetia.[37]

According to various media and military sources, there were over 1,300 mine incidents involving Russian federal forces in Chechnya from 1999 to March 2003, resulting in 2,500 military casualties. In 2002, there were at least 360 mine incidents among Russian forces. Landmine Monitor reported that in 2001, based on various sources, 279 Russian armed forces, including police and internal forces, were killed in reported landmine incidents and 684 injured. In 2000, approximately 300 Russian servicemen were killed in reported landmine incidents and over 1,000 injured.[38] Not all military casualties were the result of rebel mine use; accidents and improper handling or storage of mines also caused many casualties.[39]

Olara Otunnu, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, said in June 2002, “We estimate between 7,000 and 10,000 people have been maimed by landmines [in the course of two Chechen conflicts], and easily more than half of those are children.”[40]

Casualties continue in 2003 with over 130 new mine/UXO casualties reported in the international media to June 2003.

Survivor Assistance[41]

Surgical and general health facilities in Chechnya remain devastated because of war damage and a lack of resources and maintenance. A lack of skilled staff, equipment, and the security situation also hampers the delivery of adequate assistance.[42] Before the conflict, Chechnya had 18 social rehabilitation centers and 13 social services facilities; all have since been partially or totally destroyed.[43] Many international agencies and local and international NGOs are working to strengthen the health infrastructure in Chechnya, and neighboring republics with medicines, hospital supplies, expertise and training for local staff at hospitals and health posts. Others support mobile clinics, psycho-social support services, transportation to medical facilities, and other humanitarian aid activities.

In March 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the “Health Sector Field Directory” detailing health services available to all Chechens, including the internally displaced in neighboring republics.[44] Organizations active in mine survivor assistance-related activities include Agency for Rehabilitation and Development, CARE International, Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, Danish Refugee Council/Danish Peoples Aid, Hammer Forum, Handicap International, ICRC, International Humanitarian Initiative, International Medical Corps, Islamic Relief, Medecins du Monde, Médecins sans Frontières, Memorial, People in Need Foundation, Saudi Red Crescent Society, Save the Generation, Serlo, UNHCR, UNICEF, VESTA, WHO, and World Vision.

On 13 March 2002, the ICRC signed an agreement with the Chechen Ministry of Health and the Chechen branch of the Russian Red Cross to assist the health facilities in Chechnya. Assistance included the repair of facilities, the supply of medicines, and two Russian Red Cross mobile clinics.[45] In 2002, the ICRC provided medicines, surgical supplies and equipment to nine hospitals in Chechnya and two referral centers in Ingushetia and Dagestan. The ICRC also provided basic medical supplies to Ministry of Health facilities in the Urus Marlan and Shali districts. One Chechen surgeon participated in war-surgery seminar in Moscow in October.[46] In addition, the ICRC distributed 29 wheelchairs and 600 pairs of crutches.[47] In 2003, the ICRC has shifted its operational focus to the Chechen republic and will double its support to hospitals and undertake additional structural rehabilitation work.[48]

To improve physical rehabilitation in Chechnya, the ICRC has started a two-year training program in prosthetics and orthotics for Chechen staff who will work at the Grozny Prosthetic/Orthotic Center. In 2002, three students completed the initial six months of training and commenced work, and another five started their training in November. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development started reconstruction of the orthopedic center in 2002 and installed electricity and heating. The ICRC supplied the equipment. Prosthetic production commenced at the end of January and 30 amputees were fitted with new limbs before the official opening of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development-run center on 24 April 2003. The center will have the capacity to fit more than 300 amputees a year once training of staff is complete.[49]

UNICEF works with the WHO to facilitate services for the physical and psycho-social rehabilitation of mine survivors. In the physical rehabilitation component of the UNICEF Mine Action Program, children and women from Chechnya and the IDP camps are transported to the Vladikavkaz Rehabilitation Center and the Vladikavkaz Prosthetic Center on a weekly basis where in addition to receiving orthopedic and assistive devices, psycho-social counseling is available to assist survivors in coping with their disability. The program involves a two-month cycle of visits for physiotherapy treatment and psycho-social support.[50] In 2002, 1,341 women and children were provided with assistive devices including 176 prostheses, 230 wheelchairs, 603 crutches, and 1,589 walking sticks. Physiotherapy treatments were provided for 85 children and 400 IDP children and 115 mothers received specialized counseling. Although many of the beneficiaries were mine/UXO survivors it is not possible to provide the exact number, as some survivors received more than one type of assistance.[51]

The NGO Minga, in cooperation with UNICEF, distributes wheelchairs, crutches, and walking sticks in six districts of Chechnya.[52]

Handicap International (HI), with financial support from the WHO, ECHO, Stichting Vluchteling, and Refugee International Japan, continues to strengthen health, rehabilitation, and social services for persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors. In 2002, HI supplied seven hospitals and other NGOs with rehabilitation facilities and equipment, and assisted in the structural rehabilitation of facilities. HI facilitated the fitting of prostheses through referral of people in need to appropriate facilities. Assistive aids such as walking sticks, crutches, and wheelchairs were distributed to people with disability in their homes. HI supported the Grozny Medical College, translated rehabilitation training material, and conducted four seminars for a total of 62 health professionals and disability workers on physical rehabilitation. In cooperation with the Society of Invalids in Chechnya, HI is developing income generation projects. HI is also raising awareness on the rights of people with disabilities.[53]

CARE International, with the support of UNICEF and local NGO New Generation, runs a psycho-social rehabilitation program for groups of 30 war-affected children at the Medical-Psychological Rehabilitation Center in Vladikavkaz. The children, including mine survivors, visit the center twice a week and receive counseling and participate in activities including dance and music therapy, embroidery, yoga therapy and physical exercise. A field-based psychologist works in the IDP camp Satsita to assist mine/UXO-affected children and their parents. From May 2002 to February 2003, the program assisted 215 war and mine-affected children.[54]

In July 2002, LSG organized a two-week trip for 37 IDP children from Chechnya, including 12 mine survivors, to a mountain resort in North Ossetia. The trip was funded by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation.[55] In August 2002, LSG, with support from the WHO, established a psycho-social rehabilitation center for children with a disability in Grozny; most of the children are mine and UXO survivors. The center, with a capacity of about 60 to 80 children and adolescents, provides counseling and training in music and sports.[56]

In June 2002, the UNICEF vocational training program in Ingushetia ended with a new program organized in Grozny.[57] VoM, with support from UNICEF, commenced vocational training courses in English and computers at the Grozny Technical College for groups of 30 mine/UXO-affected adolescents. In two graduations in October and December 2002, a total of 43 mine/UXO survivors completed their studies. The participants also receive psycho-social support from the LSG program if needed.[58]

In June 2002, UNICEF and VoM set up a soccer team of child mine survivors in Grozny. The team plays games and participates in joint training with the Vladikavkaz professional amputee football club.[59] In December, the team won second prize in the junior tournament for amputees in Moscow.[60]

Disability Policy and Practice

The Federal Fund of Obligatory Medical Insurance and a Russian Federation Ministry of Health decree, dated 16 May 2001, ensure medical care for the Chechen population in other republics.[61]

Small pensions are available for persons with disabilities through the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. However, according to the head of Chechnya’s Society of Invalids, the pensions are inadequate to cover the basic costs of living. The Ministry acknowledges that the budget for assisting the disabled “was not nearly enough” but that it was not possible to reallocate resources.[62]


[1] For details on past use in the 1994-1996 conflict and the fighting post-September 1999, see Landmine Monitor Reports 1999, 2000, and 2001.
[2] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 934-936.
[3] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 801-802.
[4] Response to Landmine Monitor by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation, sent by fax to Landmine Monitor Coordinator by Vassily V. Boriak, Counselor, Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States, 16 August 2001. Original in Russian, translated by Global Communications, LLC, Washington, DC.
[5] “Unexploded Federal Ammunition Makes Up Most of Landmines Used by Chechen Guerillas,” Interfax (Moscow), 20 May 2003.
[6] Interview with Major Yevgeny Pasynok, Chief of Engineering Service, Grozny Military Commandant's office, published in “Unexploded federal ammunition makes up most of landmines used by Chechen guerillas,” Izvestia Interfax-AVN (Moscow), 20 May 2003.
[7] Interviews with officials from the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs during January-March 2002. The Russian Federation is a party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, but has not adopted its Amended Protocol II.
[8] “Terrorists Crossing from Pankissi Gorge to Chechnya,” RosBusinessConsulting (Grozny), 20 March 2002.
[9] Umar Khanbiev, Minister for Health of the Chechen Republic, citation translated from Russian by Landmine Monitor, 18 July 2002, www.chechenpress.com.
[10] Oleg Petrovsky “Hellish Surprises,” UTRO.RU Information Agency, 12 February 2002.
[11] Sharon LaFraniere, “Chechnya’s Children Fall Prey to Mines,” Washington Post, 20 October 2002. Abdurakhman Ilyasov, a teenage Chechen who planted mines for the rebels, explains, “There was one occasion when I laid the mine and waited for an APC [armored personnel carrier]. Then I saw a deminer who found it and began to defuse it. I thought, ‘I don’t want the mine to be lost, so at least I’ll blow up one soldier.’” Timur Aliev, “Chechnya: Blasts Signal New Campaign,” CRS No. 179 (Znamenskoye), 15 May 2003.
[12] Aleksei Bodrov, Vyacheslav Smirnov, TVTs television channel, “New Terrorist Acts in Chechnya,” 12 September 2000.
[13] Oleg Petrovsky, “Hellish Surprises,” UTRO.RU Information Agency, 12 February 2002.
[14] Ibid.
[15] “U.N. envoy says Chechen kids run landmine gauntlet,” Reuters (Chechnya), Moscow, 24 June 2002. See also, Press Briefing by UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, 1 July 2002, available at www.un.org.
[16] “Unexploded federal ammunition makes up most of landmines used by Chechen guerillas,” Izvestia Interfax-AVN (Moscow), 20 May 2003.
[17] HALO describes its Chechnya demining program as “currently suspended,” but states it “will reopen when the relevant authorities agree to mine clearance once again.” Following the 1994-1996 conflict, HALO identified 296 mined areas and employed over 150 Chechen staff for mine clearance teams. HALO website: http://www.halotrust.org/cauc.html.
[18] Information provided to IPPNW-Russia by Russian military sources.
[19] Timur Aliev, “Chechnya: Blasts signal new campaign,” CRS No. 179 (Znamenskoye), 15 May 2003.
[20] Information provided to IPPNW-Russia by Russian military sources.
[21] ICRC, “Russian Federation/Chechnya: ICRC Community-based Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Awareness Program in 2002,” 3 February 2003; ICRC, “New Mine-Awareness Cartoon for Schoolchildren,” ICRC News 02/38, 19 September 2002.
[22] ICRC, “Russian Federation/Chechnya: Mine/UXO Awareness in 2002,” 3 February 2003.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] UNICEF, “Humanitarian Assistance in the Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, 10 February 2003, and 13 January 2003.
[26] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, “OCHA Humanitarian action in Chechnya and Neighbouring Republics (Russian Federation) 16-31 May 2003,” ReliefWeb, 31 May 2003.
[27] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report,” 10 February 2003, and October 2002.
[28] Hayden Roberts, “Helping Hands in a Shattered Republic: Victim Assistance in Chechnya,” Journal of Mine Action, Fall 2002.
[29] “Chechnya’s Children Fall Prey to Landmines,” Washington Post, 20 October 2002.
[30] Email to Landmine Monitor (NPA) from Malene Hombolt, Danish Demining Group, 19 May 2003.
[31] UNICEF, ”Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report,” No. 61: 10-24 February 2003; US Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2002, Russia, Section 1.g.: Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts,” 31 March 2003, available at www.state.gov.
[32] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 805.
[33] Email to Landmine Monitor (HIB) from Tullio Santini, Emergency Program Coordinator, UNICEF Moscow, 18 July 2003.
[34] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 805.
[35] Email from Tullio Santini, UNICEF, 18 July 2003.
[36] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 63: 11-24 March 2003.
[37] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 60, 27 January–9 February 2003.
[38] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 738.
[39] Information provided to IPPNW-Russia by Russian military sources.
[40] “U.N. envoy says Chechen kids run landmine gauntlet,” Reuters (Moscow), 24 June 2002.
[41] Information in this section focuses on civilian mine casualties as Russian military mine casualties receive medical care in military hospitals and subsequent rehabilitation.
[42] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 806.
[43] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter on Emergency Preparedness and Response, June-July 2002, p. 8.
[44] WHO, “Health Sector Field Directory: Republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya, Russian Federation,” Nazran, March 2003, available at www.who.int/disasters/repo/9010.doc.
[45] “Medical aid stepped up in Chechen Republic,” ICRC News 02/12, 21 March 2002.
[46] ICRC, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p. 269.
[47] Ibid.
[48] “Chechnya: still in dire need of help,” Operational update, ICRC, 18 June 2003.
[49] ICRC, “Annual Report 2002,” p. 269; “Limb-fitting Center Reopens in Grozny,” ICRC News 03/51, 8 May 2003; and WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter: Mar-Apr 2003, pp. 6-7.
[50] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp. 807-808.
[51] Email from Tullio Santini, UNICEF, 18 July 2003.
[52] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter: Jan-Feb 2003, p. 10.
[53] WHO, “Health Sector Field Directory: Ingushetia and Chechnya,” Nazran, March 2003, p. 11.
[54] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter, Oct-Nov 2002, p. 8; UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 59, 14-26 January 2003; UNOCHA, “OCHA Humanitarian action in the North Caucasus,” Information Bulletin, 1-15 Mar 2003.
[55] UNOCHA, “OCHA Humanitarian action in the North Caucasus,” Information Bulletin, 1-31 July 2002.
[56] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter, Aug-Sept 2002, p. 8.
[57] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 42, 18 May–2 June 2002.
[58] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter, Oct-Nov 2002, p. 8; UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 51, 25 September–5 October 2002; UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 56, 1-17 December 2002.
[59] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 53, 21 October-3 November 2002.
[60] UNICEF, “Northern Caucasus,” Situation Report, No. 57, 17-31 December 2002.
[61] WHO, “Health Action in the North Caucasus,” Newsletter, April/May 2002, p. 7.
[62] Timur Aliev, “Little help for Chechnya’s disabled,” Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 4 July 2003.