Vladimir Putin has a fresh crisis on his hands after a shootout broke out between protesters and loyalists over the weekend, in a region ruled by one of his strongest allies.
Bordering Georgia, the Chechen Republic is governed by Putin's close friend Ramzan Kadyrov, who is known for his brutality and has been accused of countless human rights violations.
Kadyrov, a vocal supporter of the war in Ukraine, has even sent thousands of his private militia, dubbed 'Kadytovites', to fight on the frontlines.
But rebels were forced to act after Putin's close ally vowed to send 70,000 more Chechen troops to fight in the war-torn nation, the Daily Star reports.
Local reports suggest that 10 Chechen 'refuseniks', or protesters, became embroiled in a massive shootout with members of Kadyrov's army on Saturday.
The protesters reportedly opened fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers before legging it from the site of the attack, a forest near the village of Samashki on the border of another Russian republic, Ingushetia.
Local sources now claim that a "large-scale targeted cleansing" aimed at finding the 10 rebels has been launched by Kadyrov's henchmen.
Speaking about his decision to send his own people to Ukraine, Kadyrov told local TV: "We always want to live in peace and agreement with all countries - but some countries don't want that."
He continued: "We will demonstrate that you can't joke like that with us.
"We're either friends, or we'll send them off with a one-way ticket."
This isn't the first time Samashki has witnessed historical military events.
During the first Chechen war, which had the country in a vice grip throughout much of the 90s, the village witnessed a massacre at the hands of Russian soldiers from April 7-8, 1995.
The slaughtering claimed the lives of more than 100 civilians, according to a report by United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) published the next year.
The authors of the report wrote: "According to the accounts of 128 eye-witnesses, Federal soldiers deliberately and arbitrarily attacked civilians and their dwellings in Samashki by shooting residents and burning houses with flame-throwers.
"The majority of the witnesses reported that many OMON [a branch of the National Guard of Russia often used to quash protests] troops were drunk or under the influence of drugs.
"They opened fire or threw grenades into basements where residents, mostly women, elderly persons and children, had been hiding."
Have you got a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk
