12:07, 2 July 2008

In Northern Caucasus, murders come in place of kidnappings

In Northern Caucasus, the tactics of kidnapping of those suspected of links with the armed underground is replaced by the tactics of liquidating them during special operations. We get this conclusion after analyzing the kidnapping rate versus the casualties of special operations aimed to capture those announced to be militants or their aides.

According to the database, formed on the basis of accounting of individual kidnapping cases that became known to the "Caucasian Knot", the total count of the persons kidnapped in the regions of Northern Caucasus from the start of 2008 makes 28, whereas the total number of casualties as a result of special operations against those announced to be militants - if we take only those operations conducted in dwelling settlements - has made at least 58 persons as a whole for the region.

The above trend is most vivid in Dagestan and Ingushetia - the presently most restless regions in the South of Russia, where the criminogenic situation has long been far from stability. Most of the murders accomplished during special operations fall on these two regions.