North Ossetia and Ingushetia commemorate victims of Ossetian-Ingush conflict

On October 29 and 30, Ingushetia and North Ossetia held actions to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992. In their turn, the people, who suffered in those events, state that till present, 20 years later, they feel the effects of the conflict.

The subject of the territorial disputes between Ingushetia and North Ossetia is the Prigorodny District, where Ossetians and Ingushes live together. Till 1944, the Prigorodny District was a part of Ingushetia; however, later, it was included in North Ossetia. Ingushetia repeatedly raised the issue of the return of the territory, and in 1992, the struggle for the Prigorodny District grew in the Ossetian-Ingush armed conflict.

"20 years already passed since the conflict began. During that time, the Prigorodny District was recovering and building relationships. We try to make our peace life," said Ruslan Esiev, the head of the administration of the Prigorodny District.

Each year, the family of Aftandil Chibirov, who was killed during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, comes to the Alley of Glory in Vladikavkaz. Remembering the events of the autumn of 1992, Irina, the sister of the deceased man, said that her brother had just celebrated his 25^th birthday and in two days, he was killed.

On October 24, during the press conference, Soslan Fraev, Minister for National Relations of North Ossetia, answered the journalists' questions, in particular, on the consequences of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and emphasized that the main problem was in return of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"At present, 90 percent of IDPs have returned to their homes, and, according to international practice, if 50 percent of the refugees return to their homes, the issue is considered closed," Soslan Fraev said.

Ingushetia also recalls the events, which occurred 20 years ago. On October 30, in Nazran, a memorial meeting was held at the Memorial to the victims of the autumn of 1992.

"I think that both adults and young people should remember about the events that occurred 20 years ago to never allow a repetition of those terrible mistakes. I believe we need to build good neighbouring relations between our two nations, and we must close the tragic pages of the story," said at the rally Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the leader of Ingushetia.