17:02 June 2, 2003

Over 2,500 refugees return to Chechnya

More than 2,500 refugees have returned from Ingush tent camps to Chechnya since the beginning of 2003, the Federal Migration Service has reported. "Their return was voluntary," the Migration Service's first deputy chief Igor Yunash said. Yunash predicts an early increase in the flow of refugees going back to Chechnya. "We expect that the number of applications from Chechen refugees willing to return from Ingushetia will rise, mostly thanks to the government's decree guaranteeing compensation for destroyed houses, which will take effect soon," the official said. He said the latest terrorist attacks in Chechnya have not slowed down the return process. "There are people who are constantly conducting counter-propaganda campaigns in the refugee camps. They are threatening people by telling them about the poor conditions in Chechnya and the absence of aid. We suspect these people of having ties to the rebels," Yunash said. He said that tent camps in Ingushetia are now home to 14,700 Chechen refugees.

//Interfax//