Fire in CTO area in Untsukul District of Dagestan extinguished

The forest fire in the vicinity of the villages of Balakhani and Tsatanikh of the Untsukul District of Dagestan, where a large counterterrorist operation (CTO) was conducted, is completely eliminated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 2, the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced in the territory of the Untsukul and Gergebil Districts of Dagestan. According to several sources, on April 9, forest fire occurred in the villages of Balakhani and Tsatanikh where law enforcers carried out their searches. 

"It has been raining for the last two days; therefore we don't know whether the rain or some special services have extinguished the fire. The smoke disappeared already on Saturday (April 11)," Magomedrasul M., a resident of the Untsukul District, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Aminat R., a local resident, has reported that it was not for the first time that a forest fire broke out during a CTO. "I don't know what is happening there, but locals say that militaries set the forest on fire in their search for militants. There were helicopters flying over the fire," she said, adding that on April 12 militaries in their armoured vehicles returned to the place of their permanent deployment in the Untsukul District.

"I was told by the administration that the CTO regime had been cancelled; and the militaries returned to the outskirts of Gimry, where they have something like a base," she explained.

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