Chechen rebel leader blames rival for school massacre

Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has denied being involved in the Russian school hostage-taking and said another rebel chief, Shamil Basayev, should stand trial for staging it.

In a statement posted on a rebel Web site, Maskhadov, who was elected president of Chechnya in 1997 after it won de-facto independence in the first 1994-96 war, said he could not immediately bring Basayev to justice because of war but pledged to do it once the hostilities end.