News

Following the change of the Imam of the village of Agvali, who failed to satisfy the local Muslim community, the Dagestani Muftiate appointed a new chairman of the Council of Imams of the Tsumada District. The Muftiate's statement about its right to appoint Imams indicates a conflict with Agvali villagers on this issue, Ziyautdin Uvaisov, a religious figure, has suggested.

About 40 migrants from Afghanistan, who do not have refugee status in Azerbaijan, tried to hold a protest action in Baku. They demanded that the UN should pay attention to their problems. The police took the participants of the unsanctioned action out of the park.

Human rights and public organizations of Armenia claim that the policemen should be punished for beating and unjustified detention of the activists protesting against the construction of a multi-storey building. According to the Armenian Ombudsman, the police had no reason to use force.

A criminal case for assisting terrorist activities has been instituted against Alyona, a native of Rostov-on-Don, who converted to Islam. The woman left her three children to a mother of her husband, and the latter tried to take them to Grozny, but law enforcers took them off the train on the way. The children were sent to an orphanage. Such seizure of children is illegal, advocate Israil Gadadov claims.

Law enforcers claim that residents of Derbent were detained on foot, but cars of all three men ended up at a police station, relatives of the defendants claim.

On the 70th anniversary of the birth of the first President of Chechnya, Vladimir Putin named the Grozny International Airport was after Akhmat Kadyrov.

In Yerevan, a policeman hit a 16-year-old teenager at a protest against the construction of a multi-storey building on Alikhanyan Brothers Street. The teenager is hospitalized. At least four protesters are detained.

In Chechnya, the opening of a school, the construction start of a power plant, a bicycle and motor rallies and other events have been timed to the 70th birthday of Akhmat Kadyrov. Teachers were ordered to bring their pupils together and oblige them to perform poetry in honour of the first president of Chechnya, local residents have informed.

Victims of shelling attacks at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan; conflict in a Dagestani village over the imam appointment; new flooding in Kuban; verdict against Chechen native Djumaev in a case on participation in a rally for Navalny; echo of Afghanistan in the Caucasus, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of August 16-22, 2021, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

During the week from August 16 to August 22, 2021, during the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus, no information about any casualties or wounded persons was reported. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

Adam Elzhurkaev, the head of the Centre for Islamic Medicine, has talked to the persons detained for the provision of occult services, the "Grozny" TV Channel reports. One detained woman has pled guilty and asked to pardon her only after the theologian asked her to do it "for the TV report."

The positions of Azerbaijani militaries stationed in the villages located on the border of the Kelbadjar District were shelled from machine guns by Armenia, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated.

Fourteen South-Ossetian MPs have demanded to discuss the no confidence in the government at the parliament session. Authorities have failed with their promises to index salaries and are hiding the results of the audit of budget spending, the oppositionists assert.

Shelling on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops has become as regular as before the autumn war of 2020, but the sides are not using heavy weapons now, the military experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

The outcome of direct election for the head of Chechnya is defined; and election campaigning in the republic is senseless, Magomed Khamidov, a political analyst, and Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believe.

Nika Meliya, the chairman of the "United National Movement" (UNM), has named Gigi Ugulava, a former Tbilisi Mayor, to be the only oppositional candidate for the post of Mayor of the city of Poti instead of Tina Bokuchava. The "European Georgia" Party has pointed to the absence of approval of Ugulava's candidacy; and the wife of the party chairman has criticized the former Mayor.

Positions of the Azerbaijani Army were shelled on the border with Armenia and in Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.

The total damage from heavy downpours that hit Abkhazia in July and August has amounted to more than 80 million roubles. The disaster affected 231 houses and 242 social objects. Authorities continue calculating the losses.

Because of an accident, the dwelling settlement of Svetly Yar has no water supply for three days. It stopped in the morning on August 18, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed. He visited Svetly Yar on August 20. There was still no water in the houses.

In two weeks, almost 60 Azerbaijanis gathered in the "Ogonyok" camp located in the Kaitag District, mostly those who urgently need to get home. The Azerbaijani authorities fail to announce the next date for opening the border, the camp tenants interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have informed.