Chechnya burns homes to punish rebels - watchdog

* Watchdog accuses Chechnya of punitive house burnings

* Kadyrov calls to avenge rebels' relatives

* State bodies must not practice law of revenge



By Dmitry Solovyov

MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) - A human rights watchdog accused the leadership of Russia's Chechnya region on Thursday of collectively punishing family members of anti-government rebels by burning down their homes and other tactics.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov prides himself on having stabilised his mainly Muslim Caucasus region where federal forces have fought two wars against pro-independence rebels since the mid-1990s.

But critics say the relative stability was achieved by tough methods with numerous human rights violations. They say many rebels were flushed out of Chechnya, fanning insurgency in impoverished Dagestan and Ingushetia next door.

"Russia has said its 'counter-terrorism operation' in Chechnya is over, but human rights violations there certainly aren't," said Tanya Lokshina, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Russia office, presenting a 54-page report.

The New York-based watchdog documented 13 of 26 known cases of punitive home burnings since June last year that can be attributed to Chechen security bodies.

"Burning down people's homes for the alleged sins of their families is a criminal tactic, and there is no reason why the government can't put a stop to it and hold the perpetrators accountable," Lokshina said.

Contacted by Reuters, Kadyrov's press service declined to comment on the report's charges.

As violence spills over from Chechnya, Dagestan's interior minister was killed in broad daylight and Ingushetia's president was seriously wounded by a suicide bomber in recent weeks.



"CHECHEN CUSTOMS"?

Human Rights Watch cited Kadyrov urging "Chechen customs" of retribution and ordering district police and especially district administration heads to boost "work in this direction" with family members of insurgents.

Chechen customary law provides for revenge and collective punishment. If the actual criminal cannot be brought to justice, his closest relative may become the target of revenge. But the centuries-old tradition does not allow for any government role in the execution of revenge.

After the suicide attack that gravely wounded Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, the president of ethnically kin Ingushetia, Kadyrov vowed "ruthless revenge" after an investigation which he said would be conducted "in line with the law of the mountains".

His pledge sent jitters across tiny Ingushetia, amid speculation that Kadyrov was seeking to widen his sway over neighbouring regions of the turbulent North Caucasus.

Ingush politicians warned that such moves by Kadyrov could further tip the region into chaos. (Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Michael Roddy)