On September 11, Tajikistan’s Supreme Court reached a final verdict in a case against 15 alleged members of the banned Islamic militant group, Jamaat Ansarullah. In the closed trial hearing, 12 of the defendants were sentenced to prison terms between five and 24 years. According... MORE

Kavkaz 2012 (Caucasus 2012), the strategic command-staff military exercise staged in Russia’s Southern Military District (MD) from September 17 to September 23, tested key features of the reform of the Russian Armed Forces. In terms of the scenario and overall aims of the exercise, it... MORE

This year, the anniversary of the al-Qaeda 9/11 attacks on the United States was marred by a series of demonstrations against American diplomatic missions, beginning in Egypt and quickly spreading to Libya, ultimately covering a band of Muslim communities from the United Kingdom to Australia.... MORE

On September 20, the Russian security services claimed a landmark achievement in fighting insurgents in Kabardino-Balkaria, saying that they had carried out “one of the most successful special operations in the republic in the past several years.” Quoting sources in the security services, the newspaper... MORE

Tajikistan’s officials reported that an Uzbekistani border guard entered Tajikistani territory on horseback on September 11 and began filming Tajikistan’s side of the border. After he ignored a command to leave, the Tajikistani side opened fire. The Uzbek border guard was seriously injured. Authorities in... MORE

In the wake of hostile exchanges between the Chechen and Ingush governments that started in late July, relations between the two republics could again seriously deteriorate following Chechen law enforcement actions on Ingush territory. Back in July, according to the Ingush side, an accidental explosion... MORE

Once again Tokyo and Beijing played with fire over the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku islets in the East China Sea, operating under the assumption that the consequent outbursts of nationalism can be contained indefinitely and will not degenerate to the extent that they would threaten... MORE

On September 11, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense, visited Dushanbe to take part in bilateral talks concerning the extension of Russia’s basing rights for their 201st motorized rifle division (BBC Tajiki, September 13). He met with Tajikistan’s commission headed by Minister of Justice... MORE

Russia is staging a number of military exercises in September and October as part of the training year for its Armed Forces, designed to road test elements of its ongoing conventional forces reform, promote defense cooperation and strengthen the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Although... MORE

On August 28, Dagestan’s President Magomedsalam Magomedov presided over an extraordinary joint meeting of the Security Council of Dagestan and the Coordination Council for Law Enforcement in Dagestan. The leader of the republic unexpectedly proposed the idea of establishing self-defense units in the republic (https://05.mvd.ru/news/302958/).... MORE