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In North Ossetia, the number of coronavirus cases increased by 148 over 24 hours and reached 549. According to the "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision), the growth of the number of coronavirus-infected people increased significantly because of a mass protest in Vladikavkaz and violation of the regime of self-isolation by residents of the republic.

Increase in the number of coronavirus-infected people in Southern Russia and in the countries of Southern Caucasus; new forms of actions in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire; beginning of Ramadan without collective prayers in Southern Russia, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of April 20-26, 2020, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops in a village on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled 25 times within 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports today.

On April 26, the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia reported a launch of an investigation into a criminal case on a hooligan attack on relatives of advocate Seda Safaryan. The advocate herself associated the incident with her professional activities.

On April 26, the Tetritskaro municipality in the Kvemo Kartli Region was closed for quarantine. Block posts have been deployed at entrances thereto, Shota Rekhviashvili, the state representative of Kvemo Kartli, told the "Rustavi-2" TV Company.

Given the ban on collective namazes (prayers), believers of Southern Russia are praying at home and hold evening de-fasting during the holy month of Ramadan within their families. They have treated the restrictive measures with understanding.

Because of repairs of underground utilities, several streets in central Grozny are blocked. It has become more difficult for people in quarantine to make purchases within the time allotted by the authorities, residents of Grozny complained.

The statement by Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, on a possibility of a step-by-step settlement of the Karabakh conflict by liberating a number of areas around Nagorno-Karabakh has become part of political bargaining, but not a concrete proposal, analysts in Yerevan believe.

Coronavirus made corrections to the celebration of the Circassian Flag Day. Activists have posted flags on balconies and exchange posts with congratulations in social networks. Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygea has recollected traditional mass events on this day and noted that they were celebrating the holiday in self-isolation for the first time.

Shamsi Kesemenli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), is the tenth party member arrested during the quarantine period, the PFPA has informed.

The residents of the Marneuli District of Georgia, closed for strict quarantine, have reported that officials are distributing humanitarian aid among their friends and relatives; and there are not enough foodstuffs at stores. Those who are jobless receive no material assistance, the Centre for Human Rights Training and Monitoring asserts.

The onset of the Muslims' holy month of Ramadan has not led to any lifting of restrictions on visiting mosques in Chechnya. The namaz (prayer) should be performed in the family circle, as stated in the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM, or Muftiate) of Chechnya.

Elena Milashina, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper, has demanded to initiate a criminal case about the threat of murder and an attempt to interfere with the journalistic professional activities. She has stated that, if awarded some compensation, she will hire advocates to protect victims of torture and unlawful detentions in Chechnya.

Azerbaijani authorities make a maximum use of quarantine restrictions to neutralize the opposition, since they fear mass protests amid the crisis caused by coronavirus and drop of oil prices, human rights defenders assert.

After the flash mob initiated by Ramzan Kadyrov, law enforcers have appeared in the streets of Grozny with their heads shaved bald. This trend has voluntarily-forcibly touched on some state (budget-funded) organizations, local residents inform.

Victoria Simonenko, a 25-year-old resident of Novokubansk, has been put on the wanted list within the case of training in a militant camp in Syria.

For the fifth time, the prosecutor's office has convinced investigators to resume the case of torture of Evgeny Bunin, a resident of the Tuapse District, human rights defenders have informed. The victim himself intends to achieve the punishment of the law enforcer who had tortured him.

The authorities are obliged to find ways to organize street trading under the state of emergency and help small vendors, who have lost their incomes due to the imposed restrictions, the Centre Human Rights for Training and Monitoring has stated.

This year, the traditional mass march to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan, held on the Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, was cancelled because of the coronavirus. Residents of Armenia understand the need of restrictive measures and have paid tribute to the victims by means of a virtual rally.

In Chechnya, military manoeuvres in the vicinity of villages in the Nadterechny District are a stage of ordinary military exercises, not related to the socio-political situation in Northern Caucasus, military observers Alexander Golts and Pavel Felgenhauer believe. Political analyst Alexander Perendjiev does not rule out that the Russian federal troops have demonstrated their presence amid a mass protest in North Ossetia.