New battalion of Chechen military police sent to Syria
A new battalion of military police from Chechnya has been sent to Syria to replace Chechen servicemen who have returned from the Middle East. This was stated by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, in an interview on the RT television channel.
According to him, servicemen who already have experience in counter-terrorist activities are sent to Syria. The Chechen soldiers will be sent to Syria on a rotational basis. “The battalions will replace each other every two to three months,” he said.
The website Rosbalt, citing its sources, reported the deployment of a new group of Chechen servicemen the day before. According to the source, the servicemen will carry out duties in Syria related to protection, patrolling, and escorting humanitarian supplies. “None of them will take part in the fighting,” the source noted. The duration of their deployment will be about five months.
Since December 2016, a battalion of military police from the 71st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 42nd Motor Rifle Division of Chechnya has been in Syria. Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the republic, spoke about the return of the battalion on March 26th and confirmed the presence of Chechen servicemen in the Middle East for three months.
In the middle of March, Ramzan Kadyrov's assistant, Daniil Martynov, told RBC news agency that veterans of the elite units Alpha, Vympel and GRU had prepared Chechen servicemen for a mission to Syria. According to him, the Chechen military police were deployed to Aleppo.