As Ingushetia rapidly becomes one giant refugee centre, many people have decided to camp out at the checkpoint, on the highway linking the main towns of Ingushetia and the neighbouring region of North Ossetia to the south. An estimated 150,000 people have fled into Ingushetia as Russia pursues a campaign against Moslem rebels it says are hiding in Chechnya. People fear a repeat of the 1994-96 Chechen war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed. But once in Ingushetia, it is proving difficult to get out. Every morning she comes to the checkpoint and waits but in the evening she goes back to the people who have taken her in.
Many people live in railway stations or in the streets.
The refugees said tickets for trains outside Ingushetia were sold out up to October 25. Magomed Vyshegorov, in charge of Ingushetia's railway service, told Russian RTR television from the region's capital, Nazran, that he needed more trains. Magomed Gireyev, the deputy head of the Ingush immigration service, also told RTR that Chechens were not being allowed to leave even though they had a residence permit for another region. All rights reserved.