Chechnya Rife with Rumors

MOSCOW: Reports of Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev's death may be greatly exaggerated. In a repeat of the confusion that reigned last week, when reports that former Chechen leader Jokhar Dudayev had or had not been slain, the Russian press is now issuing conflicting reports of the death of Dudayev's successor. The Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reported Monday that Yandarbiyev was dead, while the news agency Interfax insisted that it was Yardarbiyev's nephew who perished in an attack. There has as yet been no confirmation of Yandarbiyev's death. "One version of the story has Yandarbiyev killed in a shootout between rival Chechen rebel groups," reports TIME's Yuri Zarakhovich. "What is clear is that the rebels -->