Vladikavkaz/Agency Caucasus – Fighting broke out in the Kartsa town of
North Ossetia on the night of June 12 between young residents and a mixed group of Chechen and Ingush workers.
The cause for the fighting remains unknown. Eight Chechen and Ingush workers were hospitalized after being badly beaten up. They were discharged from the hospital in central Vladikavkaz after being given treatment. The Chechen and Ingush workers were hired to build houses in the town of
The Interior Ministry of North Ossetia said in its statement that officials of the Russian Military Unit of North Caucasus had been notified about the fighting. “Such incidents have been happening around this region every once in a while since the houses began to be built two years ago. We carry out our inquiry into the possible reasons.”
The tension between Ingushes and Ossetians have always been potentially high since 1992 when the Prigorodni town of North Caucasus became a scene for an outbreak of the first large-scale fighting between the two groups of people. The situation was worsened in 2004 when some Chechens and Ingushes were involved in the Beslan school hostage crisis, which left at least 386 people dead and some 783 severely injured after Russian security forces had decided to storm the school building. KU/ÖZ/FT
