"Sulim Eldarov, born 1963, a former lieutenant-colonel of Ichkeria's armed forces, commander of the joint troops in the army led by Aslan Maskhadov (leader of Chechen separatists), and chief of the Sharia security service in the Nozhai-Yurt district, gave himself up to law-enforcers in May 2004," the spokesperson said.
According to the ROS, Sulim Eldarov took an active part in operations carried out by the illegal militants in Chechnya and was a close associate of Aidamir Aballayev, a former brigadier general and Ichkeria's interior minister in Aslan Maskhadov's government.
In 1994-1996 he commanded a battalion of the mountain rifle regiment. After Aballayev was killed, Eldarov was put in charge of his group of 50 illegal militants, the ROS spokesperson pointed out. He added that Eldarov was responsible for subversive activities in Chechnya's Nozhai-Yurt district.
"In August 2003, Eldarov fell out with the separatists' leaders (the so-called supreme military council) and refused to put his unit under the latter's command. As a result, he was suspended from command of militant groups operating in the Nozhai-Yurt district," the spokesperson said.
According to the ROS, since then Sulim Eldarov has been holding no contacts with Aslan Maskhadov or leader of Chechen terrorists Shamil Basayev.
