"Caucasian Knot" sums up 2017 armed conflict in NCFD
In 2017, an overall decrease in the number of victims to the armed conflict in the regions of Northern Caucasian occurred against the backdrop of an increase in the number of civilian casualties. This is evidenced by the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot".
According to the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot", in 2017, the number of victims to the armed conflict and the number of armed incidents in Northern Caucasus decreased by 39% in comparison with 2016, from 287 down to 175 people. However, the number of civilian casualties increased by 62.5%, from 24 up to 39 people.
After a year of silence, victims to the conflict were again registered in Karachay-Cherkessia, while in North Ossetia, victims to the armed conflict were registered for the first time in three years. The number of armed incidents has increased in Ingushetia, Chechnya, and the Stavropol Territory, as evidenced by the statistical data for 2017 published by the "Caucasian Knot".
The decrease in the number of victims to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus may be associated with an improvement in the situation in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria. In 2017, the above republics maintained the tendency to a decrease in the number of victims and armed incidents. So, in 2017, in Dagestan, the number of victims to the armed conflict decreased by 149 people (from 204 down to 55) in comparison with 2016.
The decrease in the number of armed incidents can be explained by the fact that in 2017, according to reports of the law enforcement bodies, leaders of several militant groups were killed. Meanwhile, it cannot be argued that all of them really stayed at high positions in the hierarchy of militants.
In 2017, in Kabardino-Balkaria, the number of victims to the armed conflict decreased by 14 people (from 15 down to one) in comparison with 2016. According to the information of the "Caucasian Knot", the republic became the safest region of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) in 2017.
Meanwhile, according to the "Caucasian Knot", for the first time since 2010, Chechnya can be called the most "hot" region of Northern Caucasus. Last year, the number of victims to the armed conflict in the republic increased by 74.4% from 43 up to 75 against the background of extrajudicial executions, to which at least 25 people fell victim in 2017.
The "Caucasian Knot" also releases "Infographics: statistics of victims in Northern Caucasus for 2017 according to the calculations run by the Caucasian Knot", which graphically shows the number of wounded and killed law enforcers, militants and civilians in the regions of North Caucasus.
Apart from Chechnya, the tendency of increase in the tension is observed in Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Stavropol Territory.
In 2017, in North Ossetia, nine persons fell victim to the armed conflict, while in 2016 and 2015, no victims to the armed conflict were registered in the republic. In 2016, in Karachay-Cherkessia, no one fell victim to the armed conflict, and in 2017, five persons fell victim to an armed incident which occurred near the Cossack village of Zelenchukskaya. For the first time since 2010, militants intensified their activities in the capital of the Stavropol Territory.