Chechen guerrillas 'receive foreign funding'

CHECHEN rebels are stepping up their activities in the restive republic as a result of extra foreign funding, Moscow-based newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported on 9 November.

Lt. Col Nikolai Varavin, head of media relations for the Russian Federal forces headquarters in Chechnya, said a new influx of young fighters and 'active financial assistance from overseas' was leading to increased rebel operations.
He added that the rebel movement had undergone some reorganisation, placing more rebels under the overall command of Emir Doku Umarov.