376 servicemen went missing in Chechnya after 1994

Starting from 1994, a total of 376 servicemen of the federal forces who took part in the Chechnya counter-terrorist operation have been enlisted as missing persons. Colonel of Justice Vladimir Kalita, Deputy Military Prosecutor of the United Force Grouping, told the ITAR-TASS about it.

"So far, we know nothing about their fate, but the work is underway to find it out. We also define burial places of servicemen. From 1999, special services have exhumed remains of 304 persons," Deputy Military Prosecutor remarked.

"We find body remains with traces of tortures and torments on them, militants used to shot servicemen dead point-blank, to make the bodies unrecognizable. Still, the remains may be identified. The Rostov Centre of Forensic and Criminalistic Examination keeps the comparative data almost on all the servicemen who went missing in Chechnya," Vladimir Kalita explained.

Earlier, Nurdi Nukhazhiev, Ombudsman of the Chechen Republic, stated that during the latest decade over 7,000 persons went missing in Chechnya. At the same time, he stressed, starting November 1999, 2780 persons went missing or were kidnapped.