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Chechen Mufti wants Russian troops to stay

MOSCOW: Chechnya's civil war will widen if Russian troops leave the war-torn republic, a Chechen Muslim official said in an interview with the Russian weekly Argumenty-i-Fakty.

"Chechnya already has a civil war, but if the Russian troops leave after finishing their operation it will escalate even more," said Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechnya's Mufti.

Kadyrov said, "Bislan Gantamirov (the head of a pro-Russian Chechen militia) and his men are already waging this war. He and I, as two military commanders, have been condemned to die by Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov."

"We all belong to different clans. Chechnya is too small for us, Maskhadov and (Chechen militant Shamil) Basayev. It is going to be either us or them, and there will be a lot of blood," Kadyrov said.

"New leaders must be elected in a legal manner and be supported by force. At this time, that force is the Russian army," said the Mufti.ÑAFP