Will these beardos quit killing innocent people. Damn MAToos.
Russian region to mourn its dead
A day of mourning has been declared in Russia’s southern Kabardino-Balkaria region on Saturday for those killed in a massive assault staged by militants.
Twelve civilians and 24 members of the security forces died in violence which erupted on Thursday in the capital, Nalchik, regional officials say.
The rebels are thought to be a mix of local Islamic militants and extremists demanding independence for Chechnya.
Local officials said 91 attackers had been killed and at least 36 captured.
However a Chechen rebel news agency reported that 13 fighters died in Nalchik while four others went missing.
Nalchik is still encircled and under patrol
Russian Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Novikov
Announcing an end to operations, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of a tough response to any such future attacks.
He said his forces had acted coherently and toughly and would do so against any such threats in the future. Nalchik lies in the volatile North Caucasus, where violence has been steadily increasing in recent months.
Russia sent about 1,500 troops and 500 special forces’ soldiers to Nalchik after the militants launched a series of attacks on the city and its airport.
‘Successful operation’
According to the pro-rebel Kavkaz Center website, the militants fighting in Nalchik belonged to the Caucasus Front - one of six “fronts” designated by Chechen rebels for operations against Russia.
A statement by the Caucasus Front HQ accused Russian forces of killing between 70 and 80 civilians in the city.
One of its field commanders, codenamed Amir Assadula, was quoted by Kavkaz Center as saying the operation had been “accomplished successfully” with “minimal” losses and the gain of 300 weapons.
Islamic militants from Yarmuk, a group based in Kabardino-Balkaria, are also said to have taken part in the fighting.
Russian Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Novikov said late on Friday that security forces were still searching Nalchik for escaped militants.
Three more were caught by police in a forest on the city’s outskirts, he said.
“Nalchik is still encircled and under patrol,” Mr Novikov told Russian news agency Itar-Tass.
“All is quiet and law enforcers are in full control of the situation.”
The BBC’s Steven Eke notes that Russian statements that the counter-operation in Nalchik had gone smoothly sharply contrast with television pictures which suggested utter mayhem.
Discontent
The raid is the latest in a series of disturbances that have been destabilising Russia’s North Caucasus for more than a year.
The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says a combination of poverty and iron rule have created a fertile soil for Islamic extremism in the region, exacerbated by an unemployment rate of up to 90%.
Concerned by the spread of extremism, the authorities in Nalchik started closing mosques, our correspondent says, leading to more discontent.
The president of Kabardino-Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov, said on Friday that militants were exploiting poor social conditions.
“The population’s low income and unemployment create the soil for religious extremists and other destructive forces to conduct an ideological war against us,” he told Russian news agency Interfax.
Nalchik is about 100km (60 miles) north-west of Beslan, where Chechen rebels took hundreds of hostages at a school in 2004, in an attack claimed by warlord Shamil Basayev.
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