Friday, February 12, 2010

Guerrilla War In The Caucasus Is Spreading


20 Insurgents Killed As Jihadist Attacks Rise In Russia's Caucasus -- Christian Science Monitor

An Islamist insurgency is now spreading beyond Chechyna to the entire patchwork of republics known as the north Caucasus.

One of the biggest thorns in Russia's side since the Soviet Union's collapse has been Chechnya, one of seven republics along its southeastern flank known collectively as the north Caucasus.

After two wars, Moscow has largely tamed Chechnya's separatists with the help of strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, though not without cost. An estimated quarter million people have been killed, and the tiny republic has turned into a totalitarian statelet. Dissenters face kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial execution, says Alexander Cherkassov of Memorial, Russia's largest independent human rights group.

"Now we are seeing the same methods being applied in Ingushetia and Dagestan," he says.

Read more ....

More News On The Caucasus

Russia says 20 killed in battle near Chechnya -- Reuters
Ingushetia operation against militants 'kills 20' -- BBC
Russia: Caucasus fighters killed -- Al Jazeera
Some 20 militants killed in south Russia -- RIA Novosti
Russia: 5 Soldiers Are Killed in Chechnya -- New York Times
Dagestan: Russia's Most Overlooked Hot Spot -- Foreign Policy
No threat of separatism in North Caucasus — Kadyrov -- RIA Novosti
Medvedev’s (and Putin’s) man in the Caucasus -- Moscow News
Putin Seeks More Jobs to Stabilize North Caucasus -- Moscow News

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