Caucasiologists claim strengthening of armed underground after formation of National Guard

The escalation of the armed conflict in four regions of Northern Caucasus may be connected both with strengthening of the armed underground and with the law enforcers' desire to demonstrate the efficiency of the National Guard. This opinion was voiced by experts on the Caucasus, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that starting from October 7 special operations were carried out in Ingushetia, Dagestan, and Chechnya. During the above special operations, according to the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot", 17 suspected militants were killed and five law enforcers were wounded.

In this April, Vladimir Putin issued a resolution to form the Russian Federal Service of troops of the National Guard, with one of the main tasks to combat terrorism.

According to Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, Project Director for Russia and Northern Caucasus of the International Crisis Group (ICG), the law enforcers' actions may be related to an "attempt of the National Guard to declare its efficiency."

However, Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya has also emphasized that "the escalation might also be caused by intensification of the activities of the armed underground." "According to the official information, the people killed and detained in Dagestan and Ingushetia were connected with Syria," noted Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya.

She has also emphasized that "at present, it is still difficult to say whether the deterioration of the situation is a trend or a single episode." "It is too early to talk about it, even though it is a disturbing signal," says Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya.

In his turn, Akhmet Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher of the Centre of the Caucasus Problems and Regional Security at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO), has also suggested that special operations in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan "could be a PR-action of the National Guard.' However, the expert does not exclude a "possible intensification of the activities of the armed underground."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.