Chechen terrorists in the north?

PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Marios Karoyian yesterday denied the government had information on Chechen terrorist camps in the north, directly contradicting statements made at the weekend by Justice Minister Doros Theodorou.

Theodorou said on Sunday security forces had entered a high state of alert in the wake of the Beslan hostage crisis, claiming the intelligence services had received reports about the presence of Chechen separatists in the occupied areas.

According to the information, which the minister said was being investigated, a number of militants (50 was the number quoted) were currently training in the north.

Karoyian said yesterday that, to the government’s knowledge, there were about 100 Chechen families and a number of students currently residing in the breakaway regime.

However, “so far, no evidence whatsoever has come to light indicating participation of these people in terrorist activities,” Karoyian added.

Reaction in the north was on of amusement yesterday, with the spokesman for the regime’s police chief telling the Cyprus Mail: “Tell us where they are, and we’ll go catch them.”

Security outside the Russian Embassy in Nicosia has been beefed up following the recent tragedy in northern Ossetia. Theodorou also said that, in recent years, draconian security measures have been enforced around the embassy on Russian Independence Day (June 12), following reliable reports of imminent terrorist strikes.

Intelligence agencies are trying to corroborate the latest information, Theodorou said, adding that the police took precautions regardless.

The minister was yesterday unavailable for comment as he was on official business abroad.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.