Chechen president offers to train Assad's troops

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the existence of any Chechen troops in Syria but offered to train Syrian regime troops, Russia’s RIA Novosti reported yesterday.

“There are no instructors in Syria from Chechnya,” he said, according to the Russian news agency, noting that “this is not currently being planned.”

When asked if the doors of his training centre for special forces are open for training Syrian regime troops, he did not reject the idea. “Why not,” he said, “the Syrian government is our ally and there are terrorists and we are fighting terrorism together.”

“If we cracked down on terrorism there, it will be easier for Russia and if we surrender our current positions, then it will be more difficult,” he said. “That is why, we will train them with pleasure.”

Kadyrov has a 400-hectare training centre for special forces in the Chechen city of Gudermes. The centre includes a number of shooting ranges and a fake city to simulate combat in an urban environment.

The centre includes real residential buildings with over and underground infrastructure where troops are trained on how to climb tall buildings, liberate them from terrorists and release hostages.