Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
Galashki ambush took place of May 11, 2000, when the separatist militants from the group of Shamil Basayev, led by a Galashki native Ruslan Khuchbarov, attacked and destroyed a convoy of the Russian Interior Ministry paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia. The incident was the first major act of violence linked to the Second Chechen War in Ingushetia and the first major rebel raid outside the neighbouring Chechnya since war began in 1999.
According to the Russian sources, in the convoy there were 22 Internal Troops servicemen from Altai Krai, returning aboard two military trucks to Vladikavkaz, capital city of the Republic of North OssetiaAlania, having completed a tour of duty in Ingushetia. At about 12 am, at a highway near the village of Galashki, a group of rebels located in the woods overlooking the road suddenly opened fire on them with grenade launchers and machine guns (some sources also mention mortar and sniper fire), disabling the first truck and then quickly obliterating the whole convoy. Following their attack, the rebels managed to escape the pursuit and vanished into the forest near the village of Bamut in Chechnya.According to the Chechen separatist website Kavkaz Center, three heavy trucks and two BTR armored vehicles were destroyed, while "not less than 40" Russian soldiers were killed by an unspecified unit of fighters from the Southwestern Front of the Chechen Armed Forces and a group of Caucasian volunteers.
The Second Chechen War (Russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, Chechen: ШолгIа оьрсийн-нохчийн тIом, lit. 'Second Russian-Chechen War') took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 to April 2009. In August 1999, Islamist fighters from Chechnya infiltrated Russia's Dagestan region, declaring it an independent state and calling for holy war. During the initial campaign, Russian military and pro-Russian Chechen paramilitary forces faced Chechen separatists in open combat and seized the Chechen capital Grozny after a winter siege that lasted from December 1999 until February 2000. Russia established direct rule over Chechnya in May 2000 although Chechen militant resistance throughout the North Caucasus region continued to inflict heavy Russian casualties and challenge Russian political control over Chechnya for several years. Both sides carried out attacks against civilians. These attacks drew international condemnation.
In mid-2000, the Russian government transferred certain military responsibilities to pro-Russian Chechen forces. The military phase of operations was terminated in April 2002, and the coordination of the field operations was given first to the Federal Security Service and then to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the summer of 2003.
By 2009, Russia had severely disabled the Chechen separatist movement and large-scale fighting ceased. Russian army and Interior Ministry troops ceased patrolling. Grozny underwent reconstruction efforts and much of the city and surrounding areas were rebuilt quickly. Sporadic violence continued throughout the North Caucasus; occasional bombings and ambushes targeting federal troops and forces of the regional governments in the area still occur.In April 2009, the government operation in Chechnya officially ended. As the bulk of the army was withdrawn, the responsibility for dealing with the low-level insurgency was shouldered by the local police force. Three months later, the exiled leader of the separatist government, Akhmed Zakayev, called for a halt to armed resistance against the Chechen police force from August and said he hoped that "starting with this day Chechens will never shoot at each other". This marked the complete end of the Chechen conflict.
The exact death toll of the conflict is unknown. Russian casualties are around 7,500 (official Russian casualty figures) or about 14,000 according to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers. Unofficial sources estimate a range of 25,000 to 50,000 dead or missing, mostly Chechen civilians.