By
The Associated Press
NAZRAN, Russia - An American working to restore medical care in war-shattered Chechnya was kidnapped by masked gunmen who pulled him from his car, forced him into another vehicle and drove away, officials said yesterday.
Kenny Gluck, 38, was traveling Tuesday in a four-car convoy of aid workers near the town of Stariye Atagi southwest of the regional capital Grozny when unidentified men opened fire on them, according to a statement from the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders.
The group said in a statement from its Amsterdam office that it war "outraged by this direct attack on a clearly marked humanitarian convoy."
Other foreign and local employees traveling in the group of cars managed to escape unharmed, the statement said. Doctors Without Borders, which won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize, is an international relief agency that provides medical help in war zones, disaster areas and remote regions.
Doctors Without Borders pulled out of the rebel region in December 1997 following the abductions of aid workers as kidnapping for ransom became widespread, but returned in December 1999.
Russian authorities blamed the aid workers for not notifying them of their travels and moving around without military escort.
"Such behavior in Chechnya by citizens of foreign governments and employees of humanitarian missions are dangerous," Gen. Ivan Babichev, the military commandant in Chechnya, was quoted as saying by Interfax. "Part of the blame for this tragedy lies with the international organization."
Doctors Without Borders officials said they give the military two weeks advance notice of their itineraries. "We never work without permission," Moscow mission head Rian van de Braak said.
Hundreds of people - foreign aid workers, journalists, Russian soldiers and local residents - have been kidnapped by armed bands for ransom, especially after Chechnya descended into anarchy following the expulsion of Russian troops in a 1994-1996 war.
Kidnappers have resorted to extreme cruelty, such as sending videotapes of the captive's finger being cut off. Victims are often kept chained in pits or are used as slaves.
Gluck, whose home town was not immediately made public, was regional head of mission for the group and traveled around Chechnya assessing health care needs.
He was sharply critical of the Russian military in an article he wrote that was published on the organization's Web site, saying soldiers refused to let wounded civilians pass checkpoints to reach hospitals.
Although the town of Stariye Atagi has been under Russian control since February, its hospital "is still without sufficient medicines and equipment," Gluck wrote. "It has received no support whatsoever from the Russian government."
Russian troops returned to Chechnya in 1999 after rebels based there invaded a neighboring region and after apartment bombings in Moscow and other cities killed about 300 people. The Russian government blamed rebels for the blasts.
Russian officials also cited the wave of kidnappings as justification for a military campaign in the region.
