Swiss of the Caucasus

The leader of Russia's volatile Chechnya region has vowed to build a ski resort "not unlike Switzerland" once rebels are destroyed in his republic ravaged by two wars but since rebuilt.

Chechnya, nestled in the North Caucasus where an Islamist insurgency is raging, will first eliminate rebel leader Doku Umarov from his mountainous hiding place before putting up the ski slopes, said Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's spokesman.

"To make these places completely safe, it is necessary to eliminate the bandits that remain there," the spokesman said.