Former rebel new Chechnya President

Moscow, Apr 5 (UNI) Former rebel Ramzan Kadyrov was today sworn-in as President of Chechnya, the war-ravaged republic of Russia in North Caucasus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated him Chechen President in February after the resignation of his predecessor Alu Alkhanov and Chechen parliament confirmed his nomination overwhelmingly.

Kadyrov has been the de-facto leader of Chechnya since 2004, when his father, then-President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated in a stadium bombing by terrorists.

Kadyrov has been the first deputy prime minister, adviser to President Putin's envoy to the region, Prime Minister and acting President.

Addressing the Chechen lawmakers at the inaugural ceremony at his country residence, Kadyrov reaffirmed his loyalty to Moscow by renouncing plans to sign a power separation deal with the central government.

''We advocate further consolidation of 'vertical power'. We do not believe an agreement on the separation of powers between the Chechen republic and Russian Federation needs to be signed,'' he said.

Conveying the Russian President's greetings to Kadyrov, Mr Putin's envoy to the region Dmirtry Kozak hailed reconstruction efforts in Chechnya.

''A lot has been done in the republic to rebuild it, but we all understand that a lot more is still to be done,'' Mr Kozak said, adding he hoped the situation would continue to improve in Chechnya.

The 30-year-old amateur boxer has effectively ruled Chechnya since his father's death, but he could only take over the reins once he reached the minimum required age of 30 earlier this year.

Kadyrov, who has his own force, helped Russian forces to neutralise most insurgent leaders and drive the rebels out of the province devastated by two Russian military onslaughts since 1994.

The former rebel leader has been the target of rights groups who accused him of murdering and kidnapping civilians.

UNI