ZARQA, Jordan -- When the wounded Chechen fighters arrived in Jordan in 1994, everything changed for Younis Ashab.
TV reports showed the young rebels in a hospital in Amman -- 70 guerrillas who were injured in the breakaway republic's revolt against Moscow and brought to Jordan by an Islamic charity -- and they inspired Ashab, a 53-year-old Koranic judge. He sought out the young fighters, married off his daughter to one of them and even ended up moving to Chechnya for a time.
"They are our people and they speak our language," he said. "We supported them through every means we could."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.