Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Feared former strongman, now Chechen President Kadyrov on Mecca pilgrimage, will meet Abdullah

from The Associated Press

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov told the Russian Interfax news agency that he had brought a personal message from President Vladimir Putin to the Saudi king. He did not elaborate. Abdullah regularly meets with foreign Muslim leaders who do pilgrimages and other visits to Mecca. Chechnya was seen as a major front line by Islamic militants waging the jihad, or holy war, against Russian forces. Consequently, the militants fought the Russia-backed troops. The Interfax also said, citing Russian consul in Jedda Mirpasha Zeinalov, that Kadyrov will be the first Russian to take part in the traditional ceremony of the washing of the Kaaba. Kadyrov took over as Chechnya's leader after the assassination of his father in 2004 and formally became president after turning 30 last October. Under his father's rule, he ran his own security force that was accused of all sorts of atrocities - abductions, torture, killings - but has tried to improve his image since assuming the country's helm.

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