Russian security services conducted a special operation, on June 16–17, against militants in southern Dagestan’s Suleiman-Stalsky and Tabasaran districts. During the operation, the security forces located ten armed men in the area. The militants refused to surrender and opened fire on the authorities. All ten... MORE

Kazakhstan has traditionally been considered the most stable and prosperous country of Central Asia and was even dubbed by external observers an “island of stability” in a chronically volatile region. Yet, on June 5, this image was shattered when a group of more than 20... MORE

The Memorial human rights center has monitored the situation in the North Caucasus since the start of the first Russian-Chechen War, in 1994. Memorial’s latest report, which covers the past two and a half years in the North Caucasus, concludes that the government is pursuing... MORE

The end of May–beginning of June turned out to be quite a tense period in Ingushetia, with the armed Islamist opposition suddenly becoming more active than in previous years. The authorities announced the elimination of suspected militants, although it is hard to verify whether the... MORE

After months of negotiation, the United States finally gave the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and includes the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) – the green light to launch its offensive to take the Syrian... MORE

Since the start of 2016, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a hitherto unknown group, has claimed responsibility for increasingly frequent attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. According to Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the attacks have resulted in oil production dropping by... MORE

Days after a U.S. drone strike killed the Taliban leader Mullah Akhar Mohammad Mansur in southwestern Pakistan on May 21, Afghan lawmakers warned of the impending collapse of Afghanistan's largest province. "Helmand is on the verge of collapse; 58 people were martyred during a single... MORE

LIBYA: CLOSING IN ON ISLAMIC STATE’S STRONGHOLD Libyan forces have had a run of luck against Islamic State (IS) fighters in recent weeks, with two separate militias capturing several towns and closing in on the extremists’ stronghold of Sirte. The Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), the... MORE