The United Nations has voiced concern at reports of arbitrary detention and torture of women in Chechnya. Yakin Erturk, UN special rapporteur on violence against women, spoke out on the issue after a recent visit to the republic. "I heard first-hand accounts of women being arbitrarily detained and tortured following targeted operations [by the Russian special forces]," she said. "This is said to be in response to women's involvement in terrorist attacks, particularly as suicide bombers." Two women were among a team that seized a school in North Ossetia in September resulting in 344 deaths, and many bombings over the past few years have been committed by so-called black widows seeking to avenge their dead husbands, sons or brothers. Chechen conflict "In the absence of the rule of law, the civilian population suffers abuse by security forces and Chechen armed groups, leaving a climate of fear and insecurity," Erturk said.