Wednesday, 12 July 2006, 01:03 GMT 02:03 UK
Rebels' dilemma after Basayev death
After the death of Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev in an apparent Russian attack, a look at how Chechnya's conflict may develop.
Basayev's death leaves a gap in Chechnya which no other living rebel figure could fill.
Shamil Basayev (1999 file pic)
Basayev's face is for many the face of the Chechen conflict
Most Russians would not want to see that gap filled in their worst nightmares, associating him forever with the dead children of Beslan.
In the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his violent death was "deserved retribution" for the school attack.
Izvestia newspaper writes that his "triumphant face" was to most Russians the terrifying symbol of a bloody era.
"There is simply no justification for what happened in the school and I know that Shamil Basayev regretted it in his heart and soul," says Akhmad Zakayev, foreign minister in the Chechen rebels' unrecognised ...
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