Ingushetia Descends into Violence, Magas Calls on Population Not to Help the Militants

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Apr. 6 – Following an attack on a guard post at the Ingush-North Ossetia border ten days ago and the declaration by the Russian authorities of a counter-terrorist operation in Ingushetia, the first there since 2020, violence has continued, with both siloviki and militants attacking one another and the number of dead and wounded now in the double digits.

            The militants appear to have some support in the population, and perhaps the most important development so far has been an appeal by Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, head of Ingushetia, for the people in his republic not to do anything to help the militants but instead do everything to bring them to justice (t.me/MAKalimatovvv/1250).

            He warned that anyone who offers any kind of help to the militants will be treated as one and prosecuted under Russian law for terrorism. Whether that will constrain families and friends of the militants from providing them with refuge and support, however, is very much an open question. And issuing such a statement highlights the divide between the powers and the people.

            For reporting on these clashes, see kavkaz-uzel.org/articles/387538/, fortanga.org/2023/04/troe-policzejskih-ubity-vosem-raneny-pri-boestolknovenii-v-ingushetii/, fortanga.org/2023/04/boestolknovenie-proizoshlo-v-zone-provedeniya-kto-v-ingushetii-soobshhaetsya-o-pogibshih/ and zona.media/article/2023/04/06/kto.