Chechen Leader Alive

MOSCOW: Reported to be dead earlier this week, separatist Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev appeared on rebel television today vowing to continue the fight with Russia until "the last soldier." 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 had been 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. While Yandarbiyev is still alive, TIME's Yuri Zarakhovich says it does not mean there is stability in Chechnya. "What is clear is that the rebels are likely to be splintered, resembling Afghanistan after the Russian pullout," Zarakhovich says. The Afghan rebels defeated the Russian-backed government forces, but after 14 years of civil war couldn't agree on a new government. With a leadership vacuum looming, Chechens may face much the same situation even if a peace with Russia can be reached.