10 November 2015, 14:13
Yury Chaika reports on 650 cases opened against Russians involved in conflicts abroad
Russia investigates nearly 650 criminal cases on involvement of Russian citizens in armed formations abroad and on recruitment and organization of transportation of mercenaries abroad. This was reported by Yury Chaika, Russian General Prosecutor, at the conference of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) for the states of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia held in Sochi.
In his turn, Evgeny Sysoev, Deputy FSB Director, has reported that about 7000 Russian citizens and natives of the CIS countries are fighting in the ranks of the terrorist grouping "Islamic State" (IS).
According to the Deputy FSB Director, in mid-2015, the number of IS militants have reached about 80,000 people, including 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq, and those numbers are comparable to the armies of some countries, the RIA "Novosti" reports.
It should be noted that the Russian authorities have acknowledged the involvement of Russian citizens in the conflict in June 2013. Then, Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Russian FSB, has expressed his concern about the fact that about 200 militants from Russia were fighting in Syria.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
