MOSCOW, Aug 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian authorities said
on Friday the younger brother of Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov has
surrendered to the authorities.
Earlier reports said Umarov surrendered personally to
Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov in Gudermes, Chechnya's second-largest
city, but the Chechen government later retracted the claim and said it was his
younger brother who surrendered.
Chechen government spokesman Lema Gudayev, quoted by
the Interfax news agency, said Umarov's younger brother was a "key assistant and
closest associate" to Umarov and he turned himself in as a result of persuasion
by the authorities.
Umarov became head of the Chechen militants after his
predecessor Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev was killed by the federal forces in June.
Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev, the most wanted
terrorist by the Russian government, was killed last month in Chechnya.
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