Yelena Barzukayeva and Shakhnazat Rabadanova (/Chernovik)
Two women whose sons were detained on 15 June for ‘illegal weapons possession’ are beginning their third week on hunger strike in the Russian Republic of Daghestan. The women say their sons were framed and tortured into giving false confessions. They are demanding their sons’ release.
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu met his Armenian counterpart, Davit Tonoyan, in Moscow on 8 February. (Defence Ministry of Armenia)
Armenia has sent an 83-person team of deminers, medics, and an accompanying security detail to the Syrian city of Aleppo․ [Read more…]
Karvachar, Shahumyan District, Nagorno-Karabakh (Armine Avetisyan /OC Media)
The authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh are hoping to incentivise more people to settle in the sparsely populated areas of Nagorno-Karabakh to encourage economic growth and strengthen its sense of security. However, the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan casts shadow on these plans.
Nalchik Airport (aviateka.su)
The Commission on adaptation of militants coming back from Syria to peaceful life has functioned in Kabardino-Balkaria for over 6 years. Despite its mandate to reintegrate former militants into society, a number of high-profile prosecutions has raised doubts over the authorities’ true commitment to peacefully returning them to civilian life.
Mafekhabl (/wikimedia.org)
Today marks Adygea’s 20th annual celebration of the Day of the Repatriate, honouring the Circassians who returned to their ancestral land after more than 150 years in exile. Many in Adygea say there is little reason to celebrate, however, as few are able to settle in the republic.
Anatoly Bibilov giving a Caucasian sabre to Bashar al-Assad on 23 July in Damascus (mfa-rso.su)
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has accepted an invitation to visit Tskhinvali (Tskhinval), South Ossetian president Anatoly Bibilov announced in a Monday press conference. The Georgian government condemned the announcement, calling it a ‘gross violation of international norms’.
Women and children arrive in Grozny from Mosul in September 2017 (Rita Roytman/OC Media)
Around 50 women from the North Caucasus have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help return family members imprisoned in Iraq to Russia, according to Caucasian Knot. In a letter addressed to the president on 15 July, the group appealed for their relatives to face trial in their homeland. [Read more…]
Nasr al-Hariri (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)
Syrian rebel leader Nasr al-Hariri has criticised president Bashar al-Assad for his decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, according to Georgian news agency IPN. Al-Hariri heads the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as well as the opposition High Negotiations Committee, which is taking part in UN-sponsored talks in Geneva with the Syrian Government. [Read more…]
(Kan Taniya/Twitter)
A number of Western countries and international organisations have condemned the Syrian government's decision to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Syria made the announcement on Tuesday, becoming the fifth state to do so.
(Kan Taniya/Twitter)
Georgia has cut off diplomatic relations with the Syrian Arab Republic, after Syria recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. In a press briefing, Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Dondua said that by recognising Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent, ‘Assad’s regime supported the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Georgia, illegal occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and years long ethnic cleansing’. [Read more…]
