The raid on Avtury took place on 12–13 July 2004, when a large group of Chechen militants assaulted the Chechen village of

Avtury Avtury (russian: Автуры; ce, Эвтара, ''Evtara'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Shalinsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Khulkhulau River, east of Shali. Population: It was supposedly founded in ...

Attack

After entering the village, separatist guerillas first blocked all entrances to the village and then attacked and seized the buildings of the security forces, inflicting heavy casualties on the defenders. A dozen members of pro-Moscow Chechen police and militia forces who had run out of ammunition were captured at dawn in their base. A car was also ambushed on the road to Avtury and all its passengers were killed.FROM THE CONFLICT ZONE: BULLETIN OF HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER “MEMORIAL”
, Memorial, July 2004 As the rebels retreated and the government reinforcements arrived, the fighting reportedly continued in the forest outside the village later on the second day. According to the government sources, at least 18 pro-Moscow fighters and 15 rebels died in the village (20 according to Ramzan Kadyrov). Initially it was claimed eight rebels were killed,18 soldiers of Chechen special forces killed by rebels
''Pravda'', 13.07.2004 and only one body was found at the site according to

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

. The government declined to disclose the republican and federal losses during the fighting outside of Avtury. The separatists said they lost five men killed and two missing, while the Russian losses were estimated as at least 45 to 50 killed (including 15-20 commandos during a fight in the forest near Avtury) and dozens wounded.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avtury 21st-century mass murder in Russia Operations of the Second Chechen War Terrorist incidents in Russia in 2004 2004 in Russia Battles of the Second Chechen War Battles involving Chechnya July 2004 events in Russia Battles in 2004

Attack

See also

References