On August 4-10, 2014, 9 persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

During the week of August 4-10, 2014, at least 9 persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 5 persons were killed, and 4 others were wounded. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The death toll includes two law enforcers in Dagestan, and three suspected members of the armed underground, including two in Dagestan and one in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Attacks on law enforcers

On August 1, a convoy of vehicles with armed men who accompanied Sharpuddi Abdul-Kadyrov, the Prosecutor of the Chechen Republic, came to the checkpoint of the road-and-patrol service (known as DPS) of the Ingush Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) located 5 kilometres from the border with Chechnya. Chechen law enforcers, according to their Ingush colleagues, failed to answer the DPS inspector's question about the purpose of their visit and his request to produce their Ids; they behaved provocatively, and that fact led to a verbal altercation that turned into a fight. One of the Chechen law enforcers fired several shots and wounded his colleague in the leg. According to the Chechen side, the law enforcers from Chechnya have fulfilled all demands of the DPS inspectors and behaved with the utmost good faith.

On August 5, at the highway Golotl-Teletl in the Shamil District of Dagestan, unidentified persons shelled a car with a policeman. The district police inspector who was in the car was shot dead.

On August 5, in Imam Shamil Avenue in Makhachkala, inspectors of the post-and-patrol service (known as PPS) asked two suspicious persons to produce their IDs. In response, unidentified persons opened fire. During the shootout, the attackers were killed by return fire, and a passerby was wounded. Investigators have pre-identified the killed men as Magomedgadji Bagamaev and Kazbek Arslanbekov, who were registered in the police as accomplices of militants.

On August 8, in Makhachkala, Temirkhan Salikhov, the Deputy Chief of the Makhachkala Road Police (known as GIBDD), was shot dead in the yard of his house. Investigators associate the murder with his official activities and believe that members of illegal armed formations (IAFs), presumably members of the so-called "Makhachkala" grouping, could be involved in the crime.

Special and counterterrorist operations

On August 5, a regime of counterterrorist operation (CTO) was introduced within the administrative boundaries of the village of Lechinkai of the Chegem District of Kabardino-Balkaria. Law enforcers cordoned off one of the houses of the village and offered the man in the house to surrender. However, he opened fire on the law enforcers and threw a grenade. He was killed by return fire. During the special operation, two law enforcers were wounded. The killed man was identified as Timur Betuganov, a local resident. He was on the federal wanted list on suspicion of an attempted murder of law enforcers and arms trafficking.

Detentions

On August 4, the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy) was addressed by Ustarkhan Murudov, a resident of the village of Chumli of the Kaitag District of Dagestan, who complained about his unlawful detention by the police. The man has stated that on July 25, after a night prayer, while he was driving home from Makhachkala, he was detained by policemen, who informed him that he was wanted. Then, the detainee was brought to the Soviet ROVD (Interior Division), where law enforcers began to question him, and they beat and threaten him. After that, he was released. A source from the Dagestani MIA has clarified that Ustarkhan Murudov was suspected of aiding and abetting members of IAFs.

On August 4, Denga Djavatkhanov, a staff member of the Kizilyurt Bar Association "Legal Aid", was forced into a car and taken to some unknown destination. Family members and friends of Denga Djavatkhanov believe that law enforcers are involved in the incident.