Russia says more than 460 of its soldiers have been killed and almost 1,500 wounded in Chechnya and neighbouring regions since Chechen militants invaded Dagestan in early August. The Chechens claim to have inflicted even more casualties on Russian forces. Chechen television today said two Russian intelligence platoons were destroyed in an ambush on 19 November as they conducted reconnaissance in the mountainous Botlikh region, about 50 miles south of Grozny. Human Rights Watch said refugees interviewed at the Chechen-Ingush border had reported widespread looting by groups of armed soldiers. Many of their homes had been stripped of foodstuffs, valuables and even floorboards.
Some witnesses say soldiers have even taken the clothes off the backs of civilians on the street.
It is a violation of international humanitarian law, and it must be stopped.