Federal Authorities Pass Law Enforcement Functions To Local Departments In Chechnya

Federal authorities are passing the majority of law enforcement functions in the Chechen republic to local interior departments, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Vasilyev announced at a meeting with journalists today. He reported that interior departments would cease purging operations. Instead they will conduct inspections together with local authorities, prosecutors, elders and religious leaders. At the same time, Vasilyev noted that police were conducting searching operations aimed at finding rebels and leaders of bandit groups hiding in the republic.