News

In North Ossetia, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) has appealed to the public with request to help the family members of murdered Imam Rasul Gamzatov. The Imam left five children, and his wife is waiting for the birth of the sixth child; however, the family does not have own housing.

Last night, in the Kizilyurt District of Dagestan, a shootout occurred. As a result, law enforcers killed two suspected militants, stated a source in the law enforcement bodies. None of the law enforcers was injured, the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs says.

In Armenia, the Yazidi National Association "Sinjar" and the Yazidi National Committee have raised 10,000 US dollars to help the Yazidis of northern Iraq, who suffered from clashes with radical groupings, the public organizations report.

According to the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights (HRC), in the Rostov Region, nine soldiers perished in the vicinities of the military training ground. So far, no official confirmation of the information about the soldiers' deaths is available.

A delegation of public figures from Crimea has visited the North-Caucasian republics during the visit organized by the Russian Congress of the Peoples of the Caucasus (RCPC) and the "Altair" Foundation. Within the period of August 15-20, the delegation visited Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan.

The Government of the United States does not recognize the presidential election in Abkhazia, since the United States consider it to be part of Georgia, said Jen Psaki, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State. The United States still consider Abkhazia as a part of Georgia and urge Russia to withdraw "its forces to pre-conflict positions" of 2008.

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed the appeal filed against arrest of Murad Adilov, an activist of the Sabirabad regional branch of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

On Monday, Omaraskhab Abdulkhalikov, a resident of the village of Bairamaul of the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, has been kidnapped by unidentified persons, stated Isa Abdulkhalikov, the father of the disappeared man.

The health stated of Ilgar Nasibov, a human rights defender and a journalist, who was beaten on August 21 in Nakhichevan, remains heavy; however, he is at home already. On the fifth day after the attack, police forensic experts have recorded in their expert's opinion injuries got by Ilgar Nasibov.

During the week of August 18-24, 2014, at least 11 persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 8 persons were killed, and 3 persons were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Election of President of Abkhazia; Russian humanitarian convoy's week-long waiting at Ukrainian customs in Rostov Region; rights defender Ilgar Nasibov beaten up in Azerbaijan, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of August 18-24, 2014, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

On August 23, the village of Usukhchai of the Dokuzpara District of Dagestan hosted the first festival of traditional folk songs dedicated to Kukvaz Radjab. The event organizers plan to make it a tradition.

In Abkhazia, presidential candidate Raul Khadjimba has won in the first round of the presidential election. This has been reported on Monday morning by Batal Tabagua, the head of the Abkhaz Central Election Commission (CEC) with reference to the preliminary information after processing 100% of the ballots.

An employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has sexually abused a woman from Makhachkala, stated Gulnara Rustamova, the leader of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy). A complaint about the incident was filed to the Investigating Committee for Dagestan.

Activists of the electoral offices of the presidential candidates Leonid Dzapshba and Raul Khadjimba report on serious violations recorded during the voting at the presidential election in Abkhazia.

According to the statement made by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union (EU), the EU does not recognize the constitutional and legal framework of the presidential election in Abkhazia.

In Rostov-on-Don, the stores have raised prices for some groups of food products, in particular, for meat and dairy products, state residents of the region. According to the Rosstat (Russian Federal State Statistics Service), the growth in prices is not as significant as reported by the local residents.

The murder of Rasul Gamzatov is not related to inter-confessional problems, believes Timur Dzeranov, an expert of the North-Ossetian Institute of Humanitarian and Social Research. According to Elbrus Sattsaev, a colleague of Timur Dzeranov, the causes of the tragedy are to be found within the Muslim Ummah (religious community).

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR) has made a statement on the incident with Ilgar Nasibov, a local rights defender, who was severely beaten up. According to the MIA, it was a domestic incident.

Magomedarip Magomedov was allegedly kidnapped after Friday prayer on the road to Makhachkala, where he went to by his Lada Priora car, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Aibike, the wife of Magomedarip Magomedov.