MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Defense Ministry posted casualty data for the Armed Forces on its Web site Wednesday that showed 89 servicemen died or were killed in April.
The ministry said 24 servicemen had committed suicide, 21 had died in car crashes, 18 in other accidents, and 14 as a result of "criminal activities perpetrated by civilians."
Three other servicemen died over mishandling weapons, and two were killed, including one as a result of torture by older fellow servicemen, the ministry said.
Seven soldiers were killed in Chechnya, where shootouts with militants and terrorist attacks are still frequent. Only three of them were killed in action. The official Army death toll in the troubled North Caucasus region since the start of 2006 stands at 31 people. One serviceman has been reported missing.
A high casualty toll and hazing incidents have become a high-profile issue in the Armed Forces this year after a scandal involving private Andrei Sychev, who had both of his legs amputated after allegedly being beaten and tortured during the New Year's Eve holidays in his army unit in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
