Stavropol Territory: 12 persons fell victim to the armed conflict in 2012

In 2012, in the Stavropol Territory, at least 12 persons suffered from the armed conflict ongoing in Northern Caucasus; of them, 10 persons were killed and two more were wounded. The number of victims is much smaller than in 2011, when there were 24 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, the Stavropol Territory registered three explosions; no terror acts were registered.

In 2011, two explosions happened in the territory of the region.

Losses of power agents and the underground

The losses among members of the armed underground in the Stavropol Territory in 2012 made nine persons.

Five of them were killed in the course of a special operation on April 10 in the city of Mineralnye Vody, in an apartment block in Zheleznodorozhnaya Street, blocked by power agents. According to the police, the militants had been long traced after; then, they were offered to surrender; however, they rendered resistance. A woman was among the casualties. The city was put under the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime.

The remaining four supposed militants were killed on April 9 in the Neftekumsk District, after they opened fire in response of the attempt of power agents to stop their car for examination. It was stated on the following day after the incident by the press service of the FSB Department for the Stavropol Territory that the liquidated local residents had prepared terror acts for the upcoming religious and May holidays.

During the reporting year, in the Stavropol Territory, there were no victims among employees of power bodies.

In 2011, the losses among the armed underground in the Stavropol Territory made 15 persons, one was wounded; while employees of law-enforcement bodies in the region lost two persons; six more power agents were wounded.

Thus, in 2012, as compared with 2011, the number of victims of the conflict went down, both among the members of the underground and among power agents.

Victims among civilians

Civilians also fall victim to the armed conflict. In 2012, in the Stavropol Territory, it was reported about three such cases.

On February 13 in Pyatigorsk, a car explosion killed Kurman Ismailov, Deputy Mufti of the Stavropol Territory, a well-known Islamic theologian. A bomb stuffed with steel balls exploded inside the car; it was attached under the driver's seat. Investigators did not rule out that the murder could be committed out of extremism or revenge.

On April 10, in the course of a special operation in Mineralnye Vody, a young man suffered: he got into the shooting zone of the police with the blocked suspected militants. The man was wounded in his leg and hospitalized.

On May 17, in Neftekumsk, an attempt was made on Aslan Rizvanov, the informal leader of the city Muslim community. Unidentified criminals waited for Rizvanov near his house. When Aslan got out of his car, they opened pistol fire and fled in their car. The victim was hospitalized with six gunshot wounds.

In 2011, there were no victims among civilians in the Stavropol Territory.

Figures show trend towards decrease of tension still present in the region

If we compare the total number of victims of the armed conflict in the Stavropol Territory in 2011, namely, 24 persons, including 17 casualties and seven wounded persons, with the figures for 2012, namely, 12 victims, including 10 casualties and two wounded persons, we see an essential improvement of the situation: a twofold decrease of the number of victims.

The data presented in the report for 2012, as compared with the figures for 2011, indicate an increase of the number of victims among civilians; and it evidences that the life of civilians in the region is still under threat because of the ongoing conflict in Northern Caucasus.