Analysts point to threat of escalation of Ossetian-Ingush conflict

The Ossetian-Ingush conflict will drag on for decades if it is not resolved now by the comprehensive efforts of the authorities, activists and the society, the North-Ossetian analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have stressed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 4, the North-Ossetian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported a brawl of Ossetians with Ingushes in the village of Dachnoye, Prigorodny District. The MIA reported detention of the conflict instigators and hospitalization of the injured teenager.

The brawl in the Prigorodny District and the shootout in Vladikavkaz indicate that the Ossetian-Ingush conflict is in a frozen state, said Aneta Gadieva, a co-chair of the "Beslan Mothers" Committee. "It shows that the conflict continues in its latent state, unfortunately. No ways to resolve it are seen yet. I think that if now we fail to strain our efforts together – officials, the public, and the townsfolk, – and try to resolve this conflict, then we'll leave it all to our descendants. Of course, there's a lot of tension from everything that is happening; and there's fear that everything may worsen," Ms Gadieva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Ruslan Totrov, the editor of the online media outlet named "Osnova" (Basis), has criticized officials and law enforcers for trying to hide the interethnic aspect of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. He pointed to the risk of individual skirmishes escalating into something bigger.

"No matter how much someone tried to describe what is happening in the Prigorodny District as an everyday conflict, it seems to me that this is an ostrich policy [of officials] and an attempt to shut one's eyes. This is undoubtedly an interethnic case," the analyst has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 13, 2021 at 07:52 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.