On the occasion of Russian President Putin's visit to the European summit in Paris on October 30 and 31, the MSF country managers for Chechnya addressed the international media on the humanitarian situation in Chechnya.

The war is continuing to bring suffering to the people there, in spite of Russia's statements about 'normalisation' in the area, MSF spokespeople stated, "We still see a constant stream of war wounded into Chechnya's hospitals. The doctors there report seeing large numbers of patients with evident signs of torture. The population is clearly living through a reign of terror".

Chechnya is on the eve of the second winter since Russia started its large-scale military operations at the end of last year. The hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Chechnya and Ingushetia are not prepared at all for the harsh Caucasian winter.

MSF will continue to draw attention to the humanitarian situation to persuade Russia to halt the abuse of the civilian population in Chechnya and to keep the continuing suffering there high on the agenda of the international community.