Samashki

Samashki (Russian: Самашки; Chechen: Саьмаӏашка) is a rural locality (a selo) in Achkhoy-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the western plains. Population: 11,275 (2010 Census); 10,824 (2002 Census).

History

Since 1992, it is a border village with the Republic of Ingushetia. The pre-war population of Samashki counted about 14,600 people (about 12,000 in October 1999).

During both Chechen Wars the village suffered greatly from the hostilities, most notably in the notorious April 1995 incident known as Samashki massacre which resulted in the deaths of more than 100 to 300 civilians.

In March 1996 another attack on the town took the form of a full-scale assault with apparent disregard for the civilian lives; according to Human Rights Watch, Russian forces used civilians as a human shields on APCs. Reports suggested some 500 civilians were killed altogether in the result of the April 1995 and March 1996 attacks. The next month, Russian journalist Nadezhda Chaikova, who had filmed the effects of the 1996 attack, was killed execution-style in Chechnya.

A devastating artillery and rocket attack on Samashki took place in October 1999 at the beginning of the Second Chechen War, despite the demilitarization of the village, killing or injuring dozens of residents on the day of October 27, 1999 alone, according to HRW. At the time, the deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District announced that there were only "bandits and terrorists" in Samashki, but a report for the British parliament claimed civilians were killed in revenge for the heavy casualties suffered there by Russian forces during the first war.

Federal forces reported a large-scale operation in Samashki in May 2000.

Transportation

A railway line from Nazran to Grozny runs through Samashki. The Rostov–Baku Highway, which connects Nazran, Grozny, and Gudermes, lies four kilometers to the south of Samashki.