Arms, money and the man

If that doesn’t work, he says he’ll try his luck with the Russian soldiers who are supposed to be his sworn enemy. "The soldiers in isolated mountain bases are demoralised. We buy their weapons off them or swap them for vodka," Lyuma says. "They’re not risking anything. They can say they used up all their ammunition, and they know that we’re not going to attack a supplier," the 32-year-old says with a broad smile.

Led by Vakha Arsanov, Lyuma and his fellow fighters focus their attacks on convoys of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers which criss-cross Chechnya in an effort to impose Moscow’s military might. "The main thing is to push off right after the attack, before the Russian’s helicopter gunships get involved," says Lyuma, his comrade-in-arms Abdula Soltomuradov nodding in agreement.

Earlier this month, Lyuma and his seven fighters failed to retreat quickly enough after destroying four armoured personnel carriers in a sneak attack. "They worked out our positions and started bombing us," he said.

"We fell back into a village where we didn’t know a soul. "In the end, one of the elders negotiated our departure from the village with the Russians. "So we hid our weapons and managed to get out without them even knowing who we were, and all for 900 rubles (around $32) Lyuma said. Even in the heat of battle, the rebels have found that, as in the first war, money talks.

"At the height of the war, we were with the (warlord) Ruslan Gelayev’s men when we got surrounded," he recalled. "For $2,000 we got out. With money, anything’s possible." "We hope that the conflict between the Russians and the Chechens, which has lasted for centuries, will end with our generation," said Abdulah, a father of three who has not seen his children for six months. "That’s why we are fighting for our independence," added the 39-year-old mason who dreams of picking up his tools once more when the war is over, and rebuilding his home, and his life.

Lyuma sees no immediate end to the war, but remains confident of the final outcome: "We know that they won’t leave easily, but we will not give in. "They (the Russians) are fighting for money, medals and promotion. We’re fighting for our land. We’ll see who’s the most tenacious."