Chechen commander warns ex-rebels ready for new war

By Gleb Bryanski

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A dissident Chechen military commander said on Saturday amnestied rebels recruited by Chechnya's pro-Kremlin leader Ramzan Kadyrov were engaged in violence and stood ready for another war with Russia.

Sulim Yamadayev, in an interview with Echo Moskvy radio station, described a situation in Chechnya at odds with Kremlin claims that it has re-established control there. Russia fought Chechen rebels in two wars since 1994 which killed thousands.

"You think there is order here? This amnestied army goes around with weapons. They do not have to hide and run... They have everything. They are just waiting," said Yamadayev.

The pro-Russian commander believed the amnestied rebels could at any moment return to the mountains and fight against Russia, Echo Moskvy's commentator said.

Yamadayev's comments followed a clash this week between his fighters, who formally report to the Defence Ministry in Moscow, and soldiers commanded by Kadyrov. Vehicles in their convoys failed to give way and several fighters were killed.

Both leaders, decorated with Russia's top military award, the Hero of Russia medal, pledge their loyalty to Russia's outgoing President Vladimir Putin, who is due to step down after the inauguration of president-elect Dmitry Medvedev on May 7.

"This is a very embarrassing statement and a very embarrassing situation for the Kremlin," said defence analyst Pavel Felgengauer of Yamadayev's interview.

The outcome of the new Chechen power struggle between the pro-Russian factions would most likely be settled in the Kremlin after a personal intervention by Putin, but a resumption of Chechnya's armed conflict was always a possibility, he said.