Family murdered in south Russia - ministry

NAZRAN, Russia, Sep 11 (Reuters) Assailants broke into a house in Ingushetia, south Russia, today and shot dead three people described by the local Interior Ministry as Gypsies, the latest non-Ingush family to die in the province.

Two wars between rebels and Russian soldiers in Chechnya since 1994 have scarred the region, but the focus of increased violence over the last few months has been in neighbouring Ingushetia, also in the northern Caucasus.

Shootings and bombings occur almost daily in Ingushetia and Moscow has sent army reinforcements to quell the attacks.

People who are not originally from Ingushetia fear they are the focus of a campaign to drive them out, after the murders of several non-Ingush families.

REUTERS PJ AS1305