Street protests Chechnya warns against ‘support for devils’

Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia’s mostly Muslim Chechnya republic, has brought tens of thousands of his citizens to the streets to protest over violence against the Rohingya and said he would oppose Moscow if it backed the Burmese government.

In a live Instagram video, Mr Kadyrov said he wanted to send his security forces to Burma, but couldn’t because “that’s the prerogative of the state”.

“If I had my way, if it was possible, I’d even carry out a nuclear strike on them, to destroy those people who are killing children, women, the elderly,” Mr Kadyrov said. Burma has in the past been a major buyer of Russian weapons. “Even if Russia will support those devils who are committing crimes today, I’m against the position of Russia,” he added, referring to reports that Moscow had prevented the UN Security Council from condemning the violence while accusing world leaders and the media of “looking on silently”. Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokesman, said Moscow had expressed its concern over the situation in Burma and denied Russia had blocked a UN security council resolution.

Alec Luhn in Moscow