At a glance
FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE FROM RUSSIA
Chechen rebels have been struggling for autonomy from Russia since 1991, with at least 95,000 people still displaced by conflict.
* Around 70,000 civilians estimated to have died
* Refugees under pressure to return
* Aid workers often need armed escorts
Russian troops and local pro-Moscow authorities are doing their best to suppress rebels fighting for the autonomy of the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.
Civilian casualties are impossible to pin down, but Russian human rights organisation Memorial estimates around 70,000 civilians have died or gone missing in two wars since the region declared independence in 1991.
At least 95,000 people remain displaced, although authorities have put considerable pressure on people to go home and Russia is keen to say the conflict is over. Medical aid agency Medecins sans Frontieres featured Chechnya in its top 10 list of under-reported stories for 2005.
The rebel cause, initially focused ...
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