By Country / Russia
Arrests Reported In Southern Russia After Unrest
February 11, 2006
Civilians being evacuated from the village of Tukui-Mektab on 10 February (AFP)
Russia's polit.ru information website quoted the Russian Interior Ministry's regional branch as saying three people were detained in Pyatigorsk, and another three in Stavropol. Security officials claim all six detainees have ties with militants killed on 10 February while battling security forces in Stavropol Krai's Neftekum Raion.
Also, Russia's state television reported that six people were arrested in a village near Stavropol on suspicion of preparing an armed raid on the town of Mineralnye vody.
Russian officials say the unrest in Neftekum claimed the lives of seven police officers and 12 militants.
The area, which borders Chechnya and Daghestan, is home to a large ethnic Nogai community. Authorities say many young Nogais are fighting Russian troops in Chechnya.
(polit.ru, Russia's First Channel, ITAR-TASS, newsru.com)