Dokka Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov (Chechen: Ӏумар Хьамади кӏант Докка, romanized: Jumar Ẋamadi khant Dokka, [ʕuˈmɑr ħɑmɑdi ˈkʼɑnt doˈkːɑ]; Russian: Доку Хаматович Умаров, Doku Khamatovich Umarov; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013[1]), also known as Dokka Umarov as well as by his Arabized name of Dokka Abu Umar, was a Chechen mujahid in North Caucasus.[2] Umarov was a major military figure in both wars in Chechnya during the 1990s and 2000s, before becoming the leader of the greater insurgency in the North Caucasus. He was active mostly in south-western Chechnya, near and across the borders with Ingushetia and Georgia.
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Khamatovich and the family name is Umarov.
Dokka Umarov
Position established
Shamil Basayev (acting)
Supyan Abdullayev (acting)
Abdul-Halim Sadulayev (acting)
Position abolished
(Prime Minister in exile: Akhmed Zakayev)
13 April 1964
Kharsenoi, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
September 7, 2013 (aged 49)
Sunzhensky District, Ingushetia, Russia
6
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (1994–2007)
Caucasus Emirate (2007–2013)
1994–2013
Emir of the Caucasus Emirate
During the late 1990s, after Chechnya's first war against Russia, Movladi Udugov's status as war hero enabled him to take the post of the breakaway Republic's Security Minister. Between 2006 and 2007, following the death of his predecessor Sheikh Abdul Halim, Umarov became the underground President of Ichkeria of the unrecognized government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, the post that Umarov eventually abolished himself when he renounced and abandoned Chechen nationalism in favour of Caucasian pan-Islamism and jihadist ideology.[3] The political mantle of Chechen nationalist separatism was formally taken over by the self-exiled Akhmed Zakayev, Umarov's former wartime comrade and friend turned political rival. Having quit the position of Chechen separatist leader, Umarov subsequently became the self-proclaimed Emir of the entire North Caucasus region of Russia, declaring it a putative Islamic state of the Caucasus Emirate. In 2010, Umarov abortively resigned from the position and appointed Aslambek Vadalov as the new Emir of the Caucasus Emirate, but soon afterwards issued a statement annulling the previous declaration and stating he would remain in his position[4] and rebel Sharia court ruled in favour of Umarov over the rift, following which most other Russian rebel leaders re-swore allegiance to him.
For years, Umarov had been the top terrorist leader in Russia. He had taken responsibility for several attacks on civilian targets since 2009, including the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings and the 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing.[5] In 2012, Umarov ordered his followers to halt attacks on the civilian population of Russia, while leaving military and security personnel as legitimate targets.[6] In July 2013, however, he announced the end of this moratorium and calling on Islamic insurgents in the Caucasus and beyond to forcibly prevent the holding of the Sochi 2014 Olympics.[7] Umarov was internationally wanted by the government of Russia and United States. In 2011, the United Nations Security Council's Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee added Umarov to the list of individuals allegedly associated with al-Qaeda and Taliban.[8]
On 18 March 2014, Umarov's death was reported by the Caucasus Emirate-associated Islamist website Kavkaz Center, which offered no details but did say his death was confirmed by the Command of the Caucasus Emirate.[9][10][11] He was announced to be replaced by the Caucasus Emirate's senior Sharia judge Ali Abu Mukhammad, who then officially confirmed the death of Umarov in a video posted on YouTube.[12] According to a report posted on Kavkaz Center, Umarov was poisoned on 6 August 2013 and died at dawn on 7 September 2013.[1] On 25 September 2017, Russian media reported that the body of Umarov had possibly been found in a remote mountainous area in Ingushetia.[13]
First Chechen War and interwar period[edit]
Umarov said he returned to Chechnya to fulfill what he called his patriotic duty. During the 1994–1996 war, he took part in the fighting against the intervention of Russian federal forces, initially serving under the command of Ruslan Gelayev in the special force popularly known as Gelayev's Spetsnaz (Gelayevskiy Spetsnaz). In 1996, Umarov left the unit because of disagreements with Gelayev and joined the command of Akhmed Zakayev, who had also left Gelayev's ranks to lead the splinter unit Wolf (Borz). In the course of the war, in which his unit was expanded into a battalion and then a regiment, Umarov was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and won two of Chechnya's highest awards for valor and bravery: Hero of the Nation (Kyoman Turpal) and Honor of the Nation (Kyoman Syi).[17][27]
Following the Khasav-Yurt Accord that ended the war in 1996 and the presidential election of Aslan Maskhadov in January 1997, Umarov was named by Maskhadov to head the Chechen Security Council, tasked with helping to contain growing chaos in the ruined republic. In that position, he intervened in July 1998 to quash armed clashes between Chechen moderates and Islamic extremists in the city of Gudermes.[27] However, Umarov was forced to resign from this post, and the council was disbanded due to his failure to stabilise the situation in Chechnya and persistent rumors of his alleged participation in the practice of taking hostages for ransom (possibly in relationship with Arbi Barayev,[16] who was widely accused of being a kidnapper).[15]
Attitudes towards targeting civilians[edit]
Although Umarov announced in 2006 an end to violence against civilians, three years later, in 2009, he stated he does not believe there are any civilians in Russia, but that civilian casualties would be limited as much as possible.[51] Umarov has personally taken responsibility for attacks in which dozens of civilians have been killed,[5][67] and has been implicated in others. Umarov was sought by the federal government of Russia for alleged crimes including acts of terrorism. During the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis, Umarov had been incorrectly identified by Russian security forces and some hostages as an on-site leader of the hostage takers,[29] a claim which was later officially refuted. Umarov himself condemned the incident.[68]
On several occasions, Umarov firmly denied any involvement in indiscriminate attacks against civilians and questioned its legitimacy and value. In a June 2005 interview with Andrei Babitsky, he criticized Basayev for ordering the Beslan raid,[68] saying that most of the Chechen resistance does not consider the Beslan hostage taking was a legitimate response to Russian actions in Chechnya ("if we resort to such methods, I do not think any of us will be able to retain his human face").[69] Umarov's controversial appointment of Basayev to the post of prime minister in 2006 was preceded by a public statement rejecting attacks against civilians as a tactic.[70] In another statement in 2004 Umarov wrote: "Our targets are the Russian occupation forces, their military bases, command headquarters and also their local collaborationists who pursue and kill peaceful Muslims. Civil objects and innocent civilians are not our targets."[28]
In early 2009 he was, by his own admission, personally involved in the re-activation of notorious Riyadus-Salikhin suicide formation, first set-up and led by Basayev between 1999 and 2004; in the next months a string of suicide attacks killed dozens of people (mostly police officers) and critically injured the Ingush president Yunus-bek Yevkurov, raising fears of a new campaign of attacks directed against Russian civilians.[71] In a July 2009 interview with Prague Watchdog, when asked if people should expect a repetition of events like the Moscow hostage crisis, Umarov responded: "If that is the will of Allah. Shamil [Basayev] did not have the opportunities I have right now. […] As far as possible we will try to avoid civilian targets, but for me there are no civilians in Russia. Why? Because a genocide of our people is being carried out with their tacit consent."[51] In December 2009, the Caucasus Emirate (via Kavkaz Center) took responsibility for the derailment of Nevsky Express, an "act of sabotage" which claimed the lives of 28 people (including government officials and Russian business executives), reportedly ordered by him personally.[67][72]
In January 2010, in a statement about the upcoming "military actions", Umarov said the re-created Riyad-us-Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs will now operate in the Russian cities outside the Caucasus and "the war will come to their homes", possibly indicating the new wave of bombings such as those conducted by the group in Moscow and elsewhere in 2002–2004 under Basayev's orders.[5] On 31 March 2010, Umarov claimed responsibility for personally ordering the Moscow Metro bombings which took the lives of 40 civilians.[73] He warned that more attacks were to come on Russian soil because of perceived repressions of Chechnya by Prime Minister Putin.[5] On 7 February 2011, Umarov claimed responsibility in a video posted online for ordering a suicide bombing at Domodedovo International Airport, Russia's busiest airport. The bombing killed 36 people, and was described by Umarov as a "special operation" targeting the Russian society and Putin personally.[74][75] His practice of claiming responsibility for such attacks resulted in some media dubbing him "Russia's bin Laden."[76][77][78]
On 3 February 2012, Umarov made an about-face again. In a video posted online, ordered his subordinates to halt attacks on the civilian population of Russia, while leaving military and security personnel as legitimate targets. Umarov gave this order in response to nationwide protests against the Russian government.[79] In June 2013, however, Umarov, accompanied by his deputy Aslan Byutukayev, called for his followers in and outside the Caucasus (in particular in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan) to use "maximum force" to ensure the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics do not take place, claiming that Russia's "barbaric actions" in the region had forced him to retaliate. Umarov said: "Today we must show those who live in the Kremlin […] that our kindness is not weakness. They plan to hold the Olympics on the bones of our ancestors, on the bones of many, many dead Muslims buried on our land by the Black Sea. We as mujahideen are required not to allow that, using any methods that Allah allows us." Russian state mass media did not report his threat, but Russia's anti-terrorist committee said it was taking measures to "protect Russian citizens" and was "paying special attention to questions of preparation for hold major sporting events of a global scale" while the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee announced that security would be a top priority.[80][81][82]
Legal status[edit]
Doku Umarov was regarded as the most-wanted man in Russia and was put by the Russian police on Interpol's international wanted list.[83] In March 2008, Chechnya's chief prosecutor, Valery Kuznetsov, launched a criminal case against Umarov for "inciting inter-ethnic hatred and calling for the overthrow of the Russian government on the Internet" (the penalty for this being just a fine of up to 500,000 rubles and a ban on holding management positions). According to Kommersant, Umarov was earlier on Russia's wanted list, but all the previous and much more serious charges against him (involvement in acts of terrorism, kidnappings for ransom, murders and robberies) were suspended in 2005. The paper noted that the Zakayev-led Chechen separatist government in exile was investigating Umarov for "attempting to liquidate the independent Chechen state" by declaring the creation of the Caucasus Emirate.[84][85] The Caucaus Emirate itself has been officially labeled by Russia as a terrorist organization since January 2010.[86]
Since 10 March 2011, Umarov has been on the United Nations Security Council's Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee list of individuals allegedly associated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of, recruiting for, supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to and otherwise supporting acts or activities of" his own organizations (the Caucasus Emirate and its Brigade of Martyrs suicide attack wing) as well as Uzbekistan's Islamic Jihad Union and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.[8]
The United States government offered $5 million for information leading to Umarov's capture since May 2011 on the grounds of his hostility to U.S. interests.[87] The reward was announced in a joint statement of U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on cooperation in counterterrorism. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley also published a statement stating that "the action taken today against Umarov supports the U.S. effort to degrade Umarov's ability to exert operational and leadership control over Caucasus Emirates [sic]. We are determined to eliminate the group's ability to direct violent attacks and to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Umarov's network."[88]
On 8 April 2014, the director of the Russian Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov confirmed the earlier announcement of Kavkaz Center made on 18 March of the same year about Umarov's death.[89]
Umarov was removed from the US State Department's Rewards for Justice list in April 2014. According to the website, "Suspects may be removed from the RFJ list for a variety of reasons, including when they are taken into custody by law enforcement or security forces, or are confirmed dead by an official authoritative source."[90]