Separatists radicalised by two savage wars – and furious at Moscow’s attempt to have a ‘bad Muslim’ elected president – vow to fight on. Shamil knows one of two things will happen this month when he crosses from Azerbaijan to Chechnya to wage jihad: either the Russian infidels will leave his native Chechnya, or he will join Allah in trying to force them out. Today, Shamil, 21, lives in limbo, part of a 6,000-strong Chechen diaspora in Baku, many of whom are without refugee status, aid, or the right paperwork to live in, or even leave, Azerbaijan. He sees Chechnya’s independence from the “martial law” imposed by Russian forces after two savage wars as his only chance. Before winter sets in he intends to retrace his route from Chechnya, back to Grozny, where he will fight to the death. “This war is a jihad for me,” he said. “I will go to Allah. I do not know what will be there for me [in the next life], but I will become a mojahedin. I will know that I have died for Allah.” Shamil is an example of how some Chechen separatists have been radicalised since the last war began in 1999. Born in Grozny during the Soviet era, he finally left his home town last November. He had held out for two wars that together spanned eight years. Full Story
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