The head of Ingushetia's Interior Ministry resigns after clashes between protesters and police

Lieutenant General Dmitry Kava, the head of Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry, has filed his resignation letter “in view of the events in Magas,” a source told the news agency Interfax. This information has not yet been verified officially.

Kava took a leave of absence in late March, amid reports from the newspaper Kommersant that he might resign or transfer to another position. A source confirmed these rumors to the news outlet Kavkaz.Realii.

Magomed Mutsolgov, a prominent social activist in Ingushetia, has said publicly that Kava’s exit is connected to his refusal to order his troops to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters in Magas. During Kava’s absence, Investigations Department head Yuri Muravev has served as acting Ingush interior minister.

From the morning of March 26 to the morning of March 27, demonstrators gathered in Magas to protest changes to Ingush referendum law. The activists also demanded the resignation of the republic’s top leaders. Law enforcement attempted to disperse the crowd.

Ingush Interior Ministry officials disbanded the police battalion that was sent to disperse the late March demonstration, firing more than a dozen officers who refused to carry out orders, and transferring other battalion members to new units.