Feared son of slain Chechen leader gets post

CROWDS of mourners streamed to a village in the Chechen foothills yesterday to bury President Akhmad Kadyrov, killed by a bomb in Chechnya’s capital, and his widely-feared son was named a top official in the republic hours later.

The killing of Mr Kadyrov on Sunday was a bold blow to the Kremlin's strategy for bringing stability to the warring republic through the strengthening of civilian authority and raised worries of a harsh crackdown in Chechnya.

Mr Kadyrov's son Ramzan, who was named Chechnya's first deputy premier, heads a security force that many Chechens and human rights groups allege is responsible for abducting and abusing civilians.