Karachay-Cherkessia: 34 victims of armed conflict in 2011

In 2011, at least 34 persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Karachay-Cherkessia, of whom 22 persons were killed and 12 more injured. The number of victims far exceeds the figure for 2010, when the republic had 4 victims. These are the results of calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", based on the data from its own correspondents and information from open sources.

Explosions and terror acts

In 2011, Karachay-Cherkessia had one explosion. On November 6, 2011, in the mountains of Karachay-Cherkessia, in the Malokarachay District, an improvised explosive device planted in a backpack left in the mountains was triggered. A local resident suffered.

In 2010, no explosions and terror acts were registered in the territory of the republic.

Loss among power agents and members of the armed underground

In 2011, the losses among members of the armed underground in Karachay-Cherkessia made 13 persons, those were individuals liquidated as a result of power agents' actions aimed to combat militants.

Besides, at least 8 persons involved, according to law enforcers, in the armed underground, were detained; of these, two were wounded at detention.

Most victims among the armed underground were observed as in December 2011. Then, as a result of two special operations, seven suspected militants were killed.

Thus, in the village of Uchkekene, Malokarachay District, a skirmish burst out in the evening on December 19, 2011. The operation was conducted in the village centre; the alleged militants were blocked in a flat of a five-story building at No. 13 Sovietskaya Street. In the course of the special operation, three persons were shot dead, and a policeman was seriously wounded. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Karachay-Cherkessia said that Islam Uzdenov, believed by power agents to be one of the local leaders of the armed underground, was among those killed in the special operation.

Another major special operation was held on December 7 in the village of Kumysha, Karachay District. Power agents tried to stop a car belonging to a resident of Karachay-Cherkessia and hijacked on that very day in the city of Cherkessk. In the pursuit of the car, fire was opened from its cabin, which caused power agents' fire in response, which triggered a powerful explosion in the chased car. During the inspection of the place of the incident, inside the car and next to it, bodies and fragments of four persons were found, who were later identified as Biaslan Gochiyaev, 27, Temurlan Totorkulov, 25, Valentin Dlugoborskiy, 27, and Marina Urusova, 33, a resident of the Zelenchuk District of Karachay-Cherkessia. According to power agents, about a year ago Biaslan Gochiyaev was appointed to be Amir of Karachay-Cherkessia, while Marina Urusova was planned to be used as a suicide bomber.

In 2011, in Karachay-Cherkessia, a total of at least 6 persons were killed and 9 persons wounded from among employees of power bodies in the course of shelling, special operations and attacks.

As a result of armed clashes and special operations, which became known in 2010, one power agent and one suspected militant were killed. Besides, two power agents were wounded; and the detention of seven persons accused of involvement in the armed underground was reported.

Thus, in 2011 as compared with 2010, the number of liquidated members of the armed underground went up from 1 to 13; and the number of detainees – from 7 to 8.

The number of casualties among law enforcers went up from 3 to 15, that is, more than five times. Moreover, the number of lost power agents increased from 1 to 6, and the number of wounded ones – from 2 to 9.

Victims among civilians

Civilians also fall victim of the conflict, in 2011, there were at least four of them in Karachay-Cherkessia, including one wounded man (hurt by explosion of a homemade bomb) and three casualties.

In the evening on March 14, Zaur Zeushev, Director of the Closed Joint-Stock Company (CJSC) "Kavkaztsement", was shot dead in Cherkessk. Unidentified attackers made at least three shots at his Toyota Camry; Mr Zeushev, who was in the car, he died on the spot. On June 1, in the evening, also in Cherkessk, unidentified criminals opened submachine-gun fire at Arthur Knukhov, a 30-year-old resident of the republic, who died from his wounds in hospital. On August 10, in the morning, in Cherkessk, near the marketplace "Turgenevskiy", a local businessman Albert Petov was shot dead in his Hyundai car.

In 2010, the republic also saw several resonant crimes against civilians. On May 12, 2010, Fral Shebzukhov, an adviser to the president of the republic, was killed in Cherkessk; and on March 14, one of the leaders of the Circassian youth Aslan Zhukov was killed. At night on January 6, in the village of Dombai, unidentified persons killed Adam Musaev, 25 a tourist and a militiaman from Grozny.

Figures reflect the trend towards increased tension

If we compare the total number of victims of the armed conflicts in Karachay-Cherkessia in 2010, namely, 4 persons: two casualties and two wounded ones, with the data for 2011 – 34 victims, including 22 persons lost and 12 others wounded, we see an apparent essential aggravation of the situation: a more than eight-fold increase in the number of victims.

Moreover, the 2011 calculations, as compared with 2010, reflect an increase in the number of victims both among policemen and suspected members of illegal armed formations, which confirms the conclusion about the increased tension of the armed conflict in the republic in 2011.