RUSSIA thought it had tamed the Muslim regions on its southern flank when it quelled a rebellion in Chechnya, but trouble is brewing again.
Barely noticed by the outside world, increasing violence between federal forces and rebels in Ingushetia, just west of Chechnya, threaten to destabilise the north Caucasus.
The local branch of Russian human rights group Memorial said 93 people we
re killed in clashes in the year to the end of August – a big toll for a region with a population of only 470,000.
Gun shots ring out at night in Nazran, the biggest town, and bomb attacks, murders and kidnappings are part of daily life.
In a busy public building, a policeman waited until his colleague was out of earshot before giving his views. "The presidency doesn't work, the ministries don't work and the government doesn't work," he said, speaking softly. "There were more dead yesterday. What will happen today?
"Three men had been killed by unknown gunmen and two soldiers wounded by a grenade attack on the interior ministry.
Russian officials blame the violence on groups of armed men, many driven by Islamist ideas, who they say have tried to overthrow Moscow's rule since 2002.
Many local people, along with human rights groups, say heavy-handed tactics by the security forces have combined with frustration over poverty and official corruption to create a popular uprising.
The region, wedged between Chechnya and North Ossetia, is one of Russia's poorest, with unemployment estimated at about 75%.
"Really what we have in Ingushetia is a civil war," said Alexei Malashenko, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Much of the anger is directed against Murat Zyazikov, the former KGB officer who was elected president of Ingushetia in 2002 and is backed by the Kremlin.
"There weren't any rebels in Ingushetia in 2002. Now it's getting worse and worse," said Timur Akiyev, the local director of Memorial.
On his desk lay a pile of photocopied photos of more than 200 men who have disappeared in the region since 2002.
Human rights groups blame security forces and say such methods drive young men to take up arms. "Ingushetia is virtually out of control," Akiyev said.
Yuri Turygin, Ingushetia's chief prosecutor, said the authorities had no choice but to mount security operations to neutralise the insurgents.
"The rebels were living here in camps and nobody touched them," said Turygin, whose office is guarded by two heavily armed soldiers and who has a picture of prime minister Vladimir Putin as the screensaver on his mobile phone. "Now, if we close our eyes to this we will have an even bigger problem."
Nazran's covered market lies not far from a vodka shop firebombed by rebels. The stalls were piled high with fruit, but there were no customers.
"People are scared," said a woman wearing a headscarf running a row of stalls.
"Three people died last night. I will go home from work tonight but I am not sure that I will be back."
