In 2011, armed conflict in Northern Caucasus killed and wounded 1378 people

Last year, at least 1378 people fell victim to the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, including 750 casualties and at least 628 wounded persons. These are the results of calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

The death toll of 750 persons includes 384 casualties declared as members of the armed underground, 190 employees of law enforcement bodies and 176 civilians.

It should be noted here that in 2010 at least 1710 people fell victim to the conflict in Northern Caucasus, including 754 casualties and 956 wounded persons.

The absolute leadership among the regions of Northern Caucasus by the number of victims in 2011 belongs to Dagestan, where the total number of victims of the conflict was at least 824 people, of them, 413 casualties and 411 wounded persons. In 2010, the total number of victims of the conflict in the territory of the republic amounted to 685 persons, of whom 378 persons were killed and 307 wounded.

Chechnya is the runner-up with 201 victims, including 95 casualties and 106 wounded persons. In 2010, the republic registered 250 victims of the armed conflict between law enforcers and members of the armed underground, including 127 casualties and 123 wounded persons.

The third place with 173 victims in 2011 belongs to Kabardino-Balkaria: 129 persons were killed and 44 others wounded in the territory of this republic. In 2010, the statistics of the "Caucasian Knot" contained information about 161 victims: then, 79 people were killed and 82 more wounded.

The following regions in the decreasing order are Ingushetia with its 108 victims, including 70 casualties and 38 wounded persons (in 2010, the republic had 326 victims, including 134 casualties and 192 wounded persons); Karachay-Cherkessia, where 34 victims included 22 casualties and 12 wounded persons were registered (in 2010, it had four victims: two casualties and two wounded persons); Stavropol Territory, which reported about 24 victims, including 17 casualties and seven wounded persons (in 2010, the territory had 89 victims: 10 casualties and 79 wounded persons); North Ossetia, which registered 14 victims of the armed conflict, including four casualties and 10 wounded persons (in 2010: 195 victims: 24 casualties and 171 wounded persons).

Explosions and terror acts

In 2011, the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) saw at least 167 explosions and terror acts, namely: 86 in Dagestan, 29 in Ingushetia, 26 in Chechnya, 21 in Kabardino-Balkaria, two in North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory each, and one in Karachay-Cherkessia.

For comparison: in 2010, Northern Caucasus saw at least 238 explosions and terror acts, namely: 112 in Dagestan, 41 in Kabardino-Balkaria, 40 in Ingushetia, 37 in Chechnya, five in North Ossetia, and three in the Stavropol Territory.

Let us note here that the 2011 statistics of explosions and terror acts included 14 suicide bombings and self-explosions; seven of them occurred in Chechnya, four - in Dagestan, two - in Ingushetia and one - in Kabardino-Balkaria.

In 2010, there were 23 such incidents; of them, 12 - in Chechnya (seven - at the attack on Kadyrov's ancestral village of Tsentoroi, and two - at the attempt to capture the Chechen parliament). Six self-explosions occurred in Dagestan, two - in Ingushetia and North Ossetia each, and one in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Besides, one terror act that has a direct relation to the situation in Northern Caucasus was committed on January 24 in the Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. The explosion claimed 38 human lives, including the suicide bomber, and at least 173 people were wounded.

In 2010, terror acts related to the conflict in Northern Caucasus, but committed outside the NCFD, were committed in Moscow on March 29 at metro stations "Lubyanka" and "Park Kultury". According to law enforcement bodies, female suicide bombers originated from Dagestan.

Losses among power agents and members of armed underground

According to police reports, in 2011, the losses of the armed underground in Northern Caucasus made 384 persons (in 2010 - 349 persons), who died as a result of self-explosions and actions of power agents. Of these, 173 people were liquidated in Dagestan (in 2010 - 176 persons), 80 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - 25 persons), 62 - in Chechnya (in 2010 - 80 persons), 40 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 63 persons), 15 - in the Stavropol Territory (in 2010 - two persons), 13 - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010 - one person) and one - in North Ossetia (in 2010 - two persons).

Besides, 370 alleged members of illegal armed formations (IAFs), according to law enforcement bodies, were detained (in 2010 - 254 persons), of which 159 persons - in the Chechen Republic (in 2010 - 166 persons), 103 - in Dagestan (in 2010 - 124 persons), 44 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - seven persons), 38 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 28 persons), 10 - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010 - seven persons) and North Ossetia (in 2010 - one person) each, and four - in the Stavropol Territory (in 2010 - four persons).

In 2011, the overall losses of law enforcers in Northern Caucasus, suffered as a result of shootings, explosions and armed clashes, made 190 casualties (in 2010 - 225 lost persons), including 111 persons - in Dagestan (in 2010 - 124 persons), 31 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - 23 persons), 21 - in Chechnya (in 2010 - 44 persons), 19 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 31 persons), six - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010 - one person), and two in the Stavropol Territory (in 2010, there were no casualties there).

In 2011, in total, 462 power agents were wounded (in 2010 - 467 persons), of which 281 - in Dagestan (in 2010 - 200 persons), 97 - in the Chechen Republic (in 2010 - 93 persons), 32 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 133 persons) and Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - 35 persons) each, nine - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010 - one person), six - in the Stavropol Territory (in 2010, there were no wounded law enforcers there), and five - in North Ossetia (in 2010 - four persons).

Civilian casualties

The confrontation of power agents and members of the armed underground is directly affecting the civilian population of Northern Caucasus regions; and the statistics of civilian victims is a confirmation.

In 2011, Northern Caucasus lost - as a result of terror acts, bombings and shootings - at least 176 civilians (in 2010 - 180 persons): 129 civilians were killed in Dagestan (in 2010 - 78 persons), 18 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 year - 31 persons), 12 - in the Chechen Republic (in 2010 - three persons), 11 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 40 persons), three - in North Ossetia (in 2010 - 20 persons) and Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010, there were no civilian casualties) each.

At least 163 civilians were wounded (in 2010 - 489 persons), including 130 - in Dagestan (in 2010 - 107 persons), 12 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - 47 persons), nine - in Chechnya (in 2010 - 30 persons), six - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 59 persons), five - in North Ossetia (in 2010 - 167 persons), and one in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2010, nobody was wounded there).

In 2011, Northern Caucasus continued registering kidnappings, disappearances and unlawful detentions. In total, there were at least at least 70 such registered cases (in 2010 - at least 50 cases), of which 31 such incidents occurred in Dagestan (in 2010 - 18 cases), 20 - in the Chechen Republic (in 2010 - six cases), 15 - in Ingushetia (in 2010 - 18 cases), and four - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2010 - six cases).

Escalation of conflict in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, stabilization in Ingushetia

The above statistics evidences quite different courses of the armed conflict in different regions of Northern Caucasus. Thus, in Dagestan the confrontation shifted toward greater impact on the civilian population; the number of killed power agents and militants went down, but the number of civilian victims went up dramatically: by 74 persons or almost by 40% more than in 2010.

Kabardino-Balkaria is watching a trend towards escalation of the conflict. In particular, the total number of deaths increased by more than one and a half - from 79 to 129 persons. In Karachay-Cherkessia, statistics also shows a significant deterioration of the situation: a more than eight-fold increase in the number of victims.

The calculations presented in the report for 2011, as compared with the data for 2010, reflect an increase in the count of casualties among power agents and suspected IAF members, which confirms the conclusion about the last year's increasing tension of the armed conflict in this republic.

At the same time Ingushetia sees an apparent significant improvement of the situation: a more than three-fold decrease in the number of victims. These calculations for 2011 in comparison with the previous year's figures reflect a decrease in the number of victims in each of the above categories, which confirms the conclusion about the trend towards stabilization of the armed conflict reached in the republic in 2011.