In Karachay-Cherkessia, seven persons fell victim to the armed conflict in 2012

In 2012, in Karachay-Cherkessia, at least seven persons fell victim to the armed conflict ongoing in Northern Caucasus; of them, five persons were killed and two more were wounded. The number of victims is much smaller that in 2011, when there were 34 of them. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on the data received from its own correspondents and on information from other open sources.

Explosions and terror acts

In 2012, in Karachay-Cherkessia, no explosions and terror acts were registered.

In 2011, in the territory of the republic, one explosion was registered, which wounded a local resident.

Losses of power agents and the underground

Losses of among members of the armed underground in Karachay-Cherkessia in 2012 made two persons. Both of them perished in the second quarter of 2012.

One of them, Soltan Gappoev, a local resident, earlier convicted, including on charges of involvement in the armed underground, attacked law enforcers in the dwelling settlement of Marukha in the evening on April 9, when employees of the FSB and policemen were delivering him to interrogation. He snatched a pistol from one of the power agents, opened fire and was killed by fire in response.

The other incident happened in the village of Pervomaiskoe of the Malokarachay District, where on July 12-13 a special operation was conducted and the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced. According to the data of power agents, persons involved in armed attacks on policemen were blocked in one of the buildings. Later, it became known that there was Umar Baichorov, 26, among them, who refused to surrender and agree to the persuasions of their relatives and opened fire from his submachine gun. By response fire of the local MIA and FSB agents, who conducted the special operation, he was shot dead.

Out of employees of power bodies within the year, Karachay-Cherkessia lost as a result of shelling, special operations and attacks in total at least three persons and two more were wounded.

These are two killed and one wounded persons on April nine in Marukha; a SWAT fighter from the MIA of Karachay-Cherkessia, who died from the wound received in December 2011; and an operative agent of the Anti-Extremism Centre of the local MIA, aged 26, from the Malokarachay District, who was shot dead in July by unidentified persons in the village of Uchkeken.

As a result of armed clashes and special operations, which became known in 2011, 13 supposed militants and six employees of power bodies were lost; two members of the armed underground were wounded at detention; and nine power agents were also wounded.

Thus, in 2012, the number of victims of the conflict from among members the underground, as compared with 2011, dropped by more than six times - from 13 down to 2. The number of victims among employees of law-enforcement bodies also decreased essentially - from 15 down to 5.

Victims among civilians

Civilians often become victims of the armed conflict; however, in 2012, Karachay-Cherkessia had no such victims.

In 2011, the republic had, apart from one wounded person (who suffered from an explosion of self-made bomb), several murders of civilians, in particular, of Zaur Zeushev, Director of the CJSC "Kavkazcement", entrepreneur Albert Petrov, and a local resident Arthur Knukhov, 30, shot dead from submachine guns.

Figures reflect the trend towards decrease of tension

If we compare the total number of victims of the armed conflict in Karachay-Cherkessia in 2011, namely, 34 victims, including 22 casualties and 12 wounded persons, with the data for 2012, namely, seven victims, including five casualties and two wounded persons, we see an essential improvement of the situation: a more than fourfold decrease of the number of victims.