Novye Aldi massacre

Novye Aldi massacre
Part of the Second Chechen War
Novye-Aldy Location of Novye-Aldy in Chechnya
Location	Novye-Aldy, Groznensky District, Chechnya, Russia
Date	February 5, 2000
Target	Civilians
Attack type	Mass murder, looting, arson, rape, robbery, massacre
Deaths	60–82
Perpetrators	Russia

The Novye Aldi massacre was the mass murder of Chechen civilians on February 5, 2000, in which Russian forces went on a cleansing operation (zachistka) summarily executing dozens of civilians. The village had been cluster-bombed a day prior to the massacre, and local residents urged to come out for inspection the next day. Upon entering the village, Russian forces shot their victims in cold blood, with automatic fire at close range. The killings were accompanied by looting, rape, arson and robbery. As a result of the deadly rampage by Russian forces, up to 82 civilians were killed in the spree.^[1][2] Houses of civilians were burnt in an attempt to destroy evidence of summary executions and other crimes. Looting took place on a large scale and organised manner.^[3]

The official investigation into the Aldi massacre established that the "sweep operation" there was conducted by the paramilitary police of OMON from the northern Russian city of Saint Petersburg (possibly also from the southern Ryazan Oblast). As of 2016 the Russian authorities had failed to hold anyone to account for the crime. The guilt of the Russian state in the Aldi murders and the denial of justice to the victims was formally established in two different judgements by the European Court of Human Rights in 2006–07.