08 May 2013, 22:00
In April 2013, 67 persons fell victims to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus
At least 67 persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus in April 2013; of them, 34 persons were lost and 33 more were wounded. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and on information from other open sources.
The leader by the count of victims is Dagestan. In April, 35 persons suffered there, including 22 killed and 13 wounded persons. In the course of attacks committed by unidentified persons, and as a result of diversions and explosions, five law enforcers were killed and nine more received wounds of various gravity. During armed clashes and special operations, 13 suspected members of the armed underground were killed. As a result of attacks and explosions undertaken and triggered by unidentified persons, four civilians were killed, and four more were wounded.
The above statistics cannot reflect with a 100-percent precision the actual number of victims. Not all data gets into news reports; and it is not always possible to check the validity of the statements made by law enforcement bodies.
In Ingushetia, 22 persons suffered from the armed conflict in April, including eight casualties and 14 more wounded persons. As a result of special operations and armed clashes with law enforcers, five persons, suspected of involvement in the armed underground were killed, and one more suspect was wounded.
As a result of armed clashes with suspected members of illegal armed formations (IAFs), two law enforcers were lost. Other 13 law enforcers were wounded; of them, six received injuries of varying gravity in a clash with the police of Chechnya. An attack undertaken by unidentified persons resulted in a murder of the deputy chief of the administration of the village of Chermen.
On April 8, in the course of operative and search actions with the aim to identify and detain IAF members, in the village of Dolakovo, Nazran District of Ingushetia, four persons were killed, suspected, according to law enforcement officials, of participating in IAFs, namely: Khavazh Ozdoev, Arthur Pliev, Yakub Mankiev and Ibragim Mestoev. In the statistics of the "Caucasian Knot", these persons are registered as suspects of involvement in IAFs.
Local residents refuted the version of the enforcers about the involvement of Khavazh Ozdoev, Arthur Pliev and Yakub Mankiev in the armed underground. According to the locals, Yakub Mankiev, who was killed in a special operation, was not a militant. Besides, law enforcers mistakenly killed Khavazh Ozdoev and Arthur Pliev, and wounded and kidnapped Adam Ozdoev, said Zareta, an Ozdoevs' sister, and Amir, a Pliev's brother.
In Chechnya, nine persons suffered within the month, including three casualties and six wounded persons. All the victims are law enforcers, who received traumas in blasts of explosion devices and during operative-search actions.
In Kabardino-Balkaria, in a shootout with law enforcers, a man suspected of involvement in the armed underground was killed.
In April 2013, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia had no victims of the armed conflict.
In March 2013, at least 72 persons fell victim to the armed conflict, including 47 killed and 25 wounded persons.
