New Chechen leader may destabilise region -analysts

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) Human rights groups criticised the Kremlin today for promoting to president of Chechnya a former rebel and militia chief they accuse of kidnap and murder.

Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to stabilise the war-weary southern Russian republic by elevating Ramzan Kadyrov to run Chechnya but defence analysts said the move could backfire and create further friction in Russia's Caucasus.

The stocky, bearded Kadyrov is the 30-year-old son of a murdered Chechen president and head of a powerful private militia force which human rights groups accuse of kidnap and murder but which he says provides street-level security.

''By raising the profile and power of Kadyrov the long view of Chechnya is pretty bleak,'' said Alison Gill, head of Human Rights Watch's Moscow office.

Gill said Kadyrov had been involved in ''pretty serious crimes'' and that his soldiers, who wear black fatigues and carry Kalashnikov rifles, bring as much fear as security to the streets of Grozny and other Chechen towns.

Russian soldiers have fought two wars against rebels in Chechnya since 1994 in which thousands of people have died. Moscow has subdued the rebellion with help from local allies, including Kadyrov and his militia.

As Moscow has scaled down its military presence, Kadyrov's power and influence has grown. Putin has given his blessing, awarding Kadyrov the title Hero of Russia, the country's highest honour.

But security analysts warn the Kremlin is playing a dangerous game and that its protege could turn on them, especially after 2008, when the Russian constitution says Putin has to step down.

''There is a connection between the two (Putin and Kadyrov) but what happens when either of them goes, we just don't know,'' he said. ''Kadyrov could go into conflict with his successor.'' Kadyrov has numerous enemies within both Chechnya and the Russian military security analyst Pavel, Felgenhauer said.

''It's a potentially unstable situation with a large private army which has pledged personal loyalty to Kadyrov and not to Russia.

It's dangerous and could destabilise rather dramatically,'' he said.

Kadyrov pledges loyalty to the Kremlin but his actions reveal a readiness to bend Russian laws.

Last year his forces raided a town in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia, Chechen paramilitaries stormed a St Petersburg factory in a commercial dispute and Kadyrov accused Russian officials of corruption and siphoning off aid money.

Reuters PDM DB2018