In 2012, 1225 persons suffered in the course of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

In 2012, at least 1225 persons fell victim to the ongoing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus; including 700 killed and at least 525 more wounded persons. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot", based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The list of the 700 casualties includes 404 persons, declared as members of the armed underground, 209 employees of law-enforcement bodies and 87 civilians.

Let us note here that in 2011 at least 1378 persons fell victim to the conflict in Northern Caucasus; of whom 750 persons were killed and 628 more were wounded.

The absolute leadership among the regions of Northern Caucasus by the number of victims in 2012 belongs to Dagestan, where the total number of the victims of the conflict were at least 695 persons; of them, 405 casualties and 290 persons who received wounds of various gravity. In 2011, in the territory of the republic, the total number of the victims of the conflict made 824 persons; of whom 413 were killed and 411 more wounded.

The runner-up was Chechnya, where 174 persons fell victim to the conflict, including 82 casualties and 92 wounded persons. In 2011, in the territory of the republic, 201 victims of the armed confrontation of power agents and the underground were registered, including 95 casualties and 106 wounded persons.

The third place by the number of victims, namely, 167 persons in 2012, belongs to Ingushetia. In the territory of this republic, in the course of the armed conflict 84 persons were killed and 83 more were wounded. In 2011, according to the data of the "Caucasian Knot", in the territory of the Republic of Ingushetia 108 persons fell victim to the conflict; then, 70 persons were killed and 38 more were wounded.

Then, in decreasing order:

Kabardino-Balkaria, in the territory of which in the course of the armed conflict 156 persons suffered; of whom 107 persons were killed and 49 wounded (in 2011, according to the data of the "Caucasian Knot", in the territory of the KBR, 173 persons fell victim to the conflict: then, 129 persons were killed and 44 more were wounded);

North Ossetia, where 14 victims of the armed conflict were registered, including 7 casualties and 7 wounded persons (in 2011 - 14 victims: 4 casualties and 10 wounded persons);

Stavropol Territory, where 12 victims were reported, including 10 casualties and 2 wounded persons (in 2011 - 24 victims: 17 casualties and 7 wounded persons);

Karachay-Cherkessia, where 7 victims included 5 casualties and 2 wounded persons (in 2011 - 34 victims: 22 casualties and 12 wounded persons).

Explosions and terror acts

In 2012, the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) were hit by at least 96 explosions and terror acts; of whom 53 - in Dagestan, 24 - in Ingushetia, 8 - in Chechnya, 7 - in the KBR, three - in the Stavropol Territory and one - in North Ossetia. In the territory of the KChR, no terror acts were registered.

For comparison: in 2011, the regions of Northern Caucasus were hit by at least 167 explosions and terror acts; of which 86 occurred in Dagestan, 29 - in Ingushetia, 26 - in Chechnya, 21 - in the KBR, two - in North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory each, and one - in the KChR.

Let us note here that the statistics of explosions and terror acts in 2012 included seven acts committed by suicide bombers and self-explosions; of them, four happened in Dagestan, two practically simultaneous self-explosions took place in Chechnya, and one - in Ingushetia and North Ossetia each.

In 2011, there were 14 such incidents; of them, seven happened in Chechnya, four - in Dagestan, two - in Ingushetia, and one - in the KBR.

Losses among power agents and the underground

In 2012, the losses of the armed underground in Northern Caucasus, according to the statements of law-enforcement bodies, made 404 persons (in 2011 - 384 persons), who became casualties as a result of self-explosions and actions of power agents. Out of this number, 231 persons fall on Dagestan (in 2011 - 173 persons), 80 - on Kabadrino-Balkaria (in 2011 - 80), 40 - on Ingushetia (in 2011 - 40), 38 - on Chechnya (in 2011 - 62), nine - on the Stavropol Territory (in 2011 - 15), four - on North Ossetia (in 2011 - one) and two - on Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2011 - 13).

Other 14 persons, who were, according to the data of the of law-enforcement bodies, the members of the armed underground, were wounded at detention: seven persons - in Dagestan, four - in Ingushetia, two - in Kabardino-Balkaria, and one - in Chechnya.

From among employees of law-enforcement bodies, in 2012, in Northern Caucasus, in total, as a result of shelling, explosions and armed clashes 209 persons were killed (in 2011 - 190); including 110 - in Dagestan (in 2011 - 111), 43 - in Chechnya (in 2011 - 21), 33 - in Ingushetia (in 2011 - 19), 19 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2011 - 31), three - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2011 - six) and one - in North Ossetia (in 2011, there were no victims among power agents). In the Stavropol Territory, in 2012, there were no casualties among power agents (in 2011 - two).

Other 386 power agents were wounded (in 2011 - 462); of them, 205 - in Dagestan (in 2011 - 281), 84 - in Chechnya (in 2011 - 97), 58 - in Ingushetia (in 2011 - 32), 30 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2011 - 32), 7 - in North Ossetia (in 2011 - five), 2 - in Karachay-Cherkessia (in 2011 - nine). In 2012, in the Stavropol Territory, there were no wounded persons among the employees of power agents (in 2011 - six persons).

Victims among civilians

The opposition of power agents and members of the armed underground are directly touching the civilian population of the regions of Northern Caucasus, which is evidenced by the statistics of civilian victims.

In 2012, in Northern Caucasus, as a result of terror acts, explosions and shelling, at least 87 civilians were killed (in 2011 - 176): 64 - in Dagestan (in 2011 - 129), 11 - in Ingushetia (in 2011 - 11), eight - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2011 - 18), two - in North Ossetia (in 2011 - three), one - in Chechnya (in 2011 - 12) and in the Stavropol Territory each (in 2011, there were no victims). In Karachay-Cherkessia, in 2012, there were no victims among civilians (in 2011 - three persons).

At least, 125 civilians more were wounded (in 2011 - 163), including 78 - in Dagestan (in 2011 - 130), 21 - in Ingushetia (in 2011 - six), 17 - in Kabardino-Balkaria (in 2011 - 12), seven - in Chechnya (in 2011 - nine), two - in the Stavropol Territory (in 2011, there were no wounded persons). In 2012, in North Ossetia, there were no wounded persons among civilians (in 2011 - five) and in the KChR (in 2011 - one).

Main trends of conflict progress in Northern Caucasus in 2012

The presented statistics of victims indicates very different ways of the armed conflict in the regions of Northern Caucasus.

More militants and less civilians are lost

In 2012, in Dagestan, power agents essentially activated their efforts, which resulted in essential losses among the members of the armed underground: the number of killed and wounded power agents became fewer, and civilians suffered twice as much; at the same time, the number of casualties among militants has gone up. An abrupt decrease of the number of explosions was noted, although the number of self-explosions remained the same.

At the same time, a high level of tension preserved in the Caucasus, because of a number of resonant killings.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 20, in Makhachkala, as a result of shelling, two persons were killed; one of them was Omar Sagidmagomedov, a lawyer of the City Bar "Kavkaz". According to investigatory bodies, policemen tried to stop for checking documents a VAZ-21014 car, which was driven by Omar Sagidmagomedov; however, the passenger opened fire on the power agents; and the latter killed both by response fire.

As a result of the explosion on August 28, triggered in the village of Chirkei, Buinaksk District of Dagestan, Sheikh Said Afandi was killed along with other seven persons. The explosion device was triggered by a female suicide bomber, who, according to the data of the MIA, entered the Afandi's house as a pilgrim.

Under the calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", in total, in 2012, in Northern Caucasus, at least ten religious figures were killed - eight in Dagestan and one in the Stavropol Territory and North Ossetia each.

According to the data of the "Caucasian Knot", the count of victims of the armed conflict in Chechnya in 2012, as compared to 2011, somewhat went down - by 27 persons. Thus, in 2012, in Chechnya, at least 174 persons fell victim to the conflict, while in 2011, there were 201 of them.

It is worth noting that, according to the official statistics, the number of victims both among power agents and among militants is essentially higher. This was stated on January 10 at a press conference on the outcomes of 2012 by the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, referring to the republic's MIA. He noted that in 2012 in the region "42 militants were liquidated when rendering armed resistance", while the cause of preservation of the "calm and stable situation" in the republic took away the lives of 54 policemen (of them, 22 in the course of armed clashes), 148 policemen were wounded, that is, at least 244 persons in total suffered in the course of the conflict. It is not possible to verify these figures, as the head of Chechnya did not specify the announced data.

However, the total number of victims in the republic is still rather high. Here, special operations are regularly conducted; very often, explosions are triggered, killing both members of the armed underground and power agents; also, local civilians suffer. Because of all that, we cannot conclude that the situation in the region has stabilized.

The figures of 2012 do not allow concluding the continuation in Ingushetia of the trend towards stabilization, which was registered on the outcomes of 2011, when the republic managed to achieve more than a triple, as compared with 2010, decrease of the number of victims of the conflict. By the outcomes of 2012, we see a growth of the total number of victims, as compared with 2011, by 59 persons, or by 55%. The analysis of the dynamics of the number of victims split by categories indicates that only the number of losses among militants did not suffer any essential changes. The number of victims among power agents went up by 78%, while the number of victims among civilians - by 88%. Let us remind you that in 2010 at least 326 persons fell victim to the ongoing armed conflict in Ingushetia.

The statistics of losses in the armed conflict in the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria indicates a noticeable decrease of the casualties and wounded persons. At the same time, the number of casualties among members of the underground remained the same; by 63% we see a decrease of the count of casualties among power agents, and by 225% - among civilians. An essential - threefold - decrease was marked in the statistics of explosions, subversive actions and terror acts.

The comparison of the total count of victims of the armed conflict in North Ossetia in 2011 and in 2012 has indicated positive dynamics in the number of victims among civilians: in 2012, the number dropped fourfold against 2011.

The comparison of the total count of victims of the armed conflict in the Stavropol Territory in 2011 with the figures for 2012 indicates an essential improvement of the situation - the total number of victims halved. At the same time, the 2012 data indicate the growing number of victims among civilians, which evidences that the life of peaceful citizens in the region is still under threat in the context of the ongoing conflict in Northern Caucasus.

The comparison of the total count of victims of the armed conflict in Karachay-Cherkessia in 2011 with the figures for 2012 indicates an essential improvement of the situation - we see a fourfold decrease of the number of victims.