Russia is struggling to stop the increase in attacks on its troubled North Caucasus region, reports Mona Khalil Throughout the world, people are becoming more and more familiar with the geography of southern Russia. News reports on the terrorist attacks have placed the region in the arena of international affairs. First it was Chechnya, later, Dagestan and Ingushetia joined the list, and last year the dramatic terrorist attack on the Beslan school put North Ossetia on the map. Last week, the international community learnt one more name of Russia's North Caucasian Republic -- Kabardino-Balkaria -- when its capital Nalchik was attacked on 13 October allegedly by a group of 150 extremists, who targeted the local administration and state security buildings, including police and army dispatches. Officials of Kabardino-Balkaria, which used to be known as the quietest republic in the Northern Caucasus, announced its losses: 92 extremists were eliminated, 25 military men and 12 civilians were left dead, and about 100 injured. President Vladimir Putin ordered security forces to blockade the city and not let a single fighter escape. It took Russian security forces about 24 hours to stabilise the situation in the city. Russian officials later assessed the performance of the local police and army as adequate. There is still no clear version of the attackers' real aims. No concrete demands were voiced. The only reasonable explanation of what happened in Nalchik -- with a population of 300,000 -- was an attempt by radical extremists to demonstrate their power to federal forces. Immediately after the incident, speculations over its religious background emerged. Some said the attackers were Muslim extremists pursuing the idea of jihad against Christian Russia. Needless to say, certain figures in both Russia and abroad have been intentionally escalating inter-religious tensions in the country; every terrorist act in the Caucasian region has been characterised as a battle of Muslims against Christians. At the same time, the idea that Christian Russians are suppressing the vulnerable and innocent Muslims of Chechnya and other North Caucasian republics has been persistently exported to Eastern states. While this kind of cheap propaganda is not always taken seriously, both Muslim and Christian religious clerics in Russia have found it necessary to comment. The head of Russia's Council of Muftis, Sheikh Ravil Ganuddin stated that those who attacked Kabardino-Balkaria were international terrorists and not real Muslims. He also said that real Muslims would never raise arms against civilians during the holy month of Ramadan, or at any other time for that matter. The Mufti of Kabardino-Balkaria, Anas Pshikhachiov, expressed regret over the fact that the people who committed the bandit acts had tried to cover it with Islam. Meanwhile, Russia's Patriarch Alexi II condemned terrorists and said he was praying for the people of Nalchik. Nevertheless, it is clear that religion has little to do with the real reasons behind this attack. For a decade now Russian federal forces have been engaged in a smoldering war with extremist groups. For years, military actions were limited to Chechnya. Once Moscow finally started normalising life and bringing order into the devastated republic, however, fighters moved from Chechnya to the neighbouring republics of Russian Northern Caucasus. Terrorist acts were carried out against civilians and federal troops. The expansion of destabilised zones in North Caucasus indicates that attacks on Russia are increasing. Nor can it be denied that radicals gaining money from such attacks aim to demonstrate their ability to widen the territory of attacks inside Russia. The launching of regular terrorist activities by extremist groups have been an efficient means of destabilising the situation in Russia. It's no secret that Western powers remain suspicious of Russia, which still possesses the strongest nuclear arsenal in the region. Moscow's recent achievements in increasing its economic and political status are also evoking serious concern
