News

Search works at sea near Sochi after the crash of the aircraft of the Russian MoD; Chechen SC's decision on appeal complaint of journalist Zhalaudi Geriev; rally of Grozny residents gathering on the blood feud after attacks on policemen, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December26, 2016, to January 1, 2017, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

In Moscow, Dagestani wrestler Rasul Mirzaev was attacked after a fight between natives of Dagestan and athlete Artyom Lobov, who was supported by Rasul Mirzaev. This was reported by a friend of the attacked athlete.

According to the preliminary information, Amir Kokurkhoev, a TV presenter and the spokesman for the Sunzha District administration in Ingushetia, was killed as a result of a domestic conflict. This is reported by the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

TV presenter Amir Kokurkhoev, the spokesman for the Sunzha District administration in Ingushetia, died in hospital from a stab wound.

The second man killed in a special operation carried out in the Novolak District of Dagestan has been identified as Magomed Sultanov, also known among the militants as Ibrakhim. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies.

Since the beginning of 2016, an armed clash in the Novolak District has become the sixth shootout between law enforcers and militants in the territory of the Khasavyurt District and the neighbouring Districts of Dagestan. As a result of those six shootouts, one law enforcer and 11 persons declared militants or their supporters were killed, and two law enforcers were wounded.

One of the men killed today by law enforcers in the Novolak District of Dagestan has been identified as 28-year-old Anvar Gadjiev, while the second killed man has not been identified yet. Both of the suspects were members of the Khasavyurt militant grouping, reports a source from the law enforcement bodies.

In the course of a special operation carried out in the village of Yamansu of the Novolak District, two militants were killed, and two law enforcers were wounded. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies.

On the New Year's Eve, no festive events take place in the streets of Sochi, and many citizens chose to come to the memorial to the victims of the Tu-154 crash. The search for the bodies of the victims is still underway in the Black Sea area.

Inglab Akhadov, the former Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, will appear in court as a defendant, accused of treason, together with Natiq Kerimov, an elder of the village of Nardaran. Their cases are combined and sent to the court.

Today, the remains of 109 victims killed during the First Chechen War, including women and children, have been taken from Rostov-on-Don to Grozny. This was reported by human rights defender Aset Malsagova. According to a source from the Muftiate, the remains were buried.

The Chechen leader has refuted the information stating that the wounded young people detained in a special operation in Grozny were killed after their hospitalization.

Relatives of the young people killed in a special operation in Grozny have been released after the gathering, involving relatives of the killed policemen and militants, as well as representatives of their clans, elders, and theologians. The police ordered the relatives of the suspects killed in the course of the special operation not to leave the places of their residence.

In the Dzerzhinsk District of Volgograd, residents of three streets of the neighbourhood of Gumrak, who during eight months experience problems with water supply, associate them with the construction of water supply systems and a highway to the international airport of the regional centre.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya has upheld the decision of the first-instance court, which had sentenced Stanislav Klykh, a citizen of Ukraine, to a month of corrective labour for insulting the public prosecutor.

In Azerbaijan, the expiring year of 2016 was characterized by deepening of economic and social crisis and lack of progress in human rights sphere. The executive power has been increased due to adoption of the amendments to the Constitution, and the situation in the country has been affected by the escalation in the Karabakh conflict zone. This was noted by NGO activists, journalists, and oppositionists, questioned by the "Caucasian Knot".

In Sochi, more than 100 people kept at a temporary detention facility for illegal migrants have been brought to the Kuban village of Gulkevichi. According to a staff member of the Sochi temporary detention facility for migrants, the authorities treated the facility as not suitable for the resort area, and it was finally closed.

The day of December 31 has marked the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last federal forces from Chechnya on December 31, 1996. By the end of the First Chechen War, the "Caucasian Knot" prepared a compilation of reference materials, combined in a thematic folder.

The decision of the Turkish Federation of Caucasian Associations (KAFFED – from the Turkish Kafkas Dernekleri Federasyonu) to suspend its membership in the International Circassian Association (ICA) was a result of a systemic crisis within the ICA, the leadership of which supports the attempts of Russian authorities to suppress the protest moods of the Circassian community, said the activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

Small Jewish communities in Southern of Russia are dying out due to the outflow of young people, while larger communities try to cope with it through initiatives for children and teens. Members of the Jewish communities, who are now celebrating the Hanukkah, told the "Caucasian Knot" about it.