Chechen rebels have been struggling for autonomy from Russia since 1991 in a conflict that Moscow says is over. The region's bomb-devastated capital is recovering, but thousands of people are still displaced, and rights activists say kidnappings, torture and police abuses are still rife.

• Around 70,000 civilians estimated to have died
• Tens of thousands still displaced by war
• Aid workers often need armed escorts

Russia has managed to subdue large-scale separatist resistance in the region and install a loyal local administration, although sporadic clashes between troops and rebels are not unusual. Fighting has largely shifted into Chechnya's neighbours in the North Caucasus - Ingushetia and Dagestan.

Aid workers in Chechnya say the fear of being caught in the crossfire has been replaced by fear of intimidation from security forces loyal to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel leader.

War casualties are impossible to pin down, but Russian human rights organisation Memorial estimates up to 75,000 civilians died or went missing in two conflicts since the region declared independence in 1991. Some 70,000 people remain displaced, although authorities have put considerable pressure on people to go home.

The rebel cause, initially focused on independence for a region culturally distinct from Russia, has become increasingly influenced by Islamists.

Displaced in Chechnya	About 56,000 (UNHCR, February 2008)
Displaced Chechens in neighbouring republics	About 30,000 (UNHCR, February 2008)
Kidnappings	At least 186 in 2006 (Memorial)
Population of Chechnya	1.1 million (State census, 2005)