Following the killing of Chechnya's number one terrorist, Shamil Basayev, Russian authorities announced a partial amnesty July 15, 2006 for militants who were not involved in major atrocities.
Four residents of the village of Stariye Atagi in central Chechnya turned themselves in to police. From December 1995 to May 2000, they served under a certain warlord Zakayev, the law-enforcement bodies said.
One militant surrendered in Gudermes, Chechnya's second largest city situated in the east of the republic. In January-December 2000, he served under a certain warlord Akhmadov, the law-enforcement bodies said.
Also in the Gudermes district, a resident of the village of Engel-Yurt turned himself in to police and surrendered a Kalashnikov automatic rifle. From January to February 2000, he served under a certain Varayev, the law-enforcement bodies said.
A law granting amnesty to militants and servicemen guilty of offenses during the North Caucasus antiterrorism campaign came into force in late September 2006.
More than 300 militants have accepted the surrender offer since its announcement, mainly in Chechnya, according to Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the National Antiterrorism Committee.
