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Ilyas Akhmadov, the Chechen separatists' chief international diplomat, said that the tribunal should be similar to the U.N. war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia "in order to prosecute Russian war criminals ... both military and civilian, including and especially Russian political leaders."
International human rights groups have continuously accused Russian troops of torture, summary executions and other abuses during sweeps for suspected rebels throughout the separatist republic. The Russian military denies widespread abuses, and insists that it seriously investigates all allegations.
Akhmadov has increased his efforts in recent months to draw attention to Chechnya, saying that he fears the world community has turned its back on the conflict since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Washington and many Western nations have tempered their criticism in the wake of Moscow's support for the war against terrorism, and Russia has tried to present the campaign as part of the international fight. But the United States and the West have still pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a political settlement.
"The process of a political settlement in Chechnya has never started," Akhmadov said in a statement.
Russian forces withdrew in defeat from Chechnya in 1996, leaving it with de facto independence. They returned in 1999 after rebels raided a neighboring Russian region and 300 people died in a series of apartment house bombings blamed on the Chechen rebels.
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