Chechnya's president ordered armed groups in his republic to disband Sunday, while jubilant Chechens celebrated the signing of a peace treaty with Moscow.
Waving the green flags of Chechen independence, thousands turned out for a festive rally to commemorate the treaty-signing last week that formally ended the 21-month war of independence against Russia.President Aslan Maskhadov announced the disarmament order at the rally at Stariye Atagi, south of the Chechen capital, Grozny.
Maskhadov said Chechens should show the world they can live peacefully and lawfully as they build their state. For this, the republic must be demilitarized, he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
The move demonstrated Mask-hadov's determination to restore stability to crime-ridden Chechnya, but it remained to be seen whether his order would be heeded. Despite broad popularity, the former rebel military chief has been unable to rein in armed gangs that operate outside his control.
Russia and Chechnya formally ended their devastating war in an April 30 peace treaty that avoided the key issue of Chechen independence.
Russian leaders insist Chechnya will not be allowed to secede, but Chechen officials already consider the region independent.