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Shukharat Masirokhunov, an international terrorist, who was trained by Khattab for fighting Americans in Afghanistan, discusses the terrorism activities in Chechnya. Masirokhunov has also met Osama Bin Laden and recruited many Mujaheddins. Masirokhunov was recently extradited from Pakistan, and is presently being tried in Tashkent.

Before Jokhar Dudaev acceded to power in Chechnya, there were around 230,000 ethnic Russians in Chechnya. As a result of events in Chechnya since his accession to power, some of these people are now refugees with nowhere to go.

Plans for a referendum, a presidential election and the adoption of a constitution are unlikely to bring calm to Chechnya. According to Musa Gazimagomadov, a Chechen OMON special police force commander, peace will not emerge in Chechnya unless the region's warlords are defeated by force.

Thousands of refugees, mostly Russians, from Grozny, Chechnya, are facing death due to starvation and diseases. The Emergency Situation Ministry limits their services to merely arranging a passage for the refugees to Mineralnye Vody. Food and medical supplies are wasted due to indifference of officials and lack of proper storage and transportation facilities. A similar fate awaits a consignment of relief materials from Norway. The people are disgusted with the war, and want the Russian troops to leave immediately.

Fred Cuny, an American philanthropist, and his group disappeared in Chechnya in Apr 1995 and were last seen in Samashki. Cuny visited Chechnya to initiate a truce between the federal authorities and Dzhokhar Dudayev's supporters. He wanted to remove the Grozny residents from the city. Cuny's group entered Chechen territory via Ingushetia along the way to Bamut village, which is controlled by Dudayev rebels. They were arrested by Dudayev's people, when they were 5 kms from Samashki, and disappeared after their release. Both the warring sides in Chechnya are accused of causing Cuny's death.

The town of Gudermes, a Chechen rebel stronghold, is awaiting a Russian attack on the town. The Chechen volunteers use the city as a resting place and dozens of Chechen gunmen come from Grozny to relax in the town. The gunmen indulge in occasional violence which leads to clashes between the local people and the gunmen.