The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has issued a new report highlighting the deteriorating human rights and security situation in the North Caucasus. The report's author, Swiss parliamentarian Dick Marty, said on September 30, one day after the report was issued: "In April... MORE

On September 25, a group of Ingush civil activists made an unprecedented public statement, harshly criticizing the policy of Ingushetia's President, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, regarding the disputed lands in the Prigorodny district of neighboring North Ossetia (www.ingushetia.org, September 25). President Yevkurov had previously said that North... MORE

The head of the administration of Dagestan's Khasavyurt district, Alimsultan Alkhamatov, was shot to death on Moscow on September 27. His driver-bodyguard, Nadzhmutdin Mitikov, was wounded in the attack, which took place in the southwestern part of the Russian capital. The head of the investigations... MORE

The latest move by the insurgency in the North Caucasus was not entirely unexpected. It has finally dawned on the rebel leadership of the Caucasus Emirate that waging a war against everyone is a hopeless proposition. Their perpetual hostility toward Sufi Islam resulted in pushing... MORE

In an extensive interview with the Russian ultra-nationalist newspaper Zavtra published on September 23, the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that he has picked Adam Delimkhanov, the State Duma deputy representing Chechnya, to be his successor. The choice is particularly noteworthy given that Delimkhanov has... MORE

On September 17, the Spiritual Board of Muslims of North Ossetia issued a special statement after a small quantity of explosives was found at a local mosque. The statement condemned the incident as a provocation, especially given that it took place during the Muslim holy... MORE

Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was among the North Caucasus leaders drumming up investment in their republics at "Sochi-2009" -the eighth international investment forum held in the Black Sea resort over September 17-20. Delegations from 56 regions and 27 foreign countries -a total of 7,700 people-... MORE

The Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Stavropol, Ismail Bostanov, was murdered in the city of Cherkessk on Sunday (September 20). Interfax quoted a law enforcement source in Karachaevo-Cherkessia as saying the attack took place when Bostanov's was stopped at... MORE

This week has seen little let up in the insurgent violence that has been on the rise across the North Caucasus for many months now.Unidentified gunmen shot up a police car in the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik, on the evening of September 17, wounding one... MORE

In recent months attacks by insurgents in the North Caucasus have risen in intensity. More ominously, however, the range of targets -as well as the style of attacks- appears to demonstrate a newfound tactical capability which challenges the April announcement by the federal authorities that... MORE