The Ministry of Health of Dagestan reported that more than 20 people were injured during the riots at Makhachkala airport, 10 of them were seriously injured, including two in extremely serious condition. At least 9 police officers were injured, two of them are in hospital.
Police have identified 150 “active participants in the riots” at Makhachkala airport, 60 of them have been detained, the Interior Ministry’s North Caucasus Federal District Directorate said.
The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, said criminal cases had been opened over “a number of facts that set a precedent for yesterday’s events”. He also promised that “there will be no forgiveness for anyone”. At the same time, the official claims that the protests were caused by “attempts to destabilize the situation from abroad, including by pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels”.
Rosaviatsia reduced the period of suspension of the airport’s work it will be opened on the night of October 31. The airport was initially expected to be closed until November 6.
Several hundred to a thousand people took over Makhachkala airport on Sunday evening, holding an anti-Semitic protest before the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv. Those gathered protested against Israel and demanded the expulsion of Jews from the region.
The gathered crowd broke into the airport building and infiltrated the airfield in search of passengers from Israel. Earlier, local publics urged residents to meet flights from Tel Aviv to prevent their passengers from entering the city.
Participants in the anti-Semitic action were first outside the airport, they checked departing cars and the passports of the people in them. A few hours after the action began, the protesters tore down the fence and forced their way into the airport. They entered every room, shouting anti-Semitic slogans.
The police did not take action, they only tried to calm the crowd, saying that they “understand” the condition of the people and that the people gathered were “not strangers” to them. After people broke through to the airfield, Rosgvardiya fighters entered the airport. The Investigative Committee for Dagestan opened a criminal case under the article on organizing mass riots.
Anti-Semitic actions took place over the weekend in other cities of the North Caucasus. On October 28, a rally was held in Cherkessk, the capital of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, demanding that residents of Israel not be allowed into the republic. More than 30 people were detained. On the night of October 29, residents of Derbent in Dagestan protested against the fictitious settlement of refugees from Israel in local hotels. In Nalchik, unknown persons set fire to car tires at the construction site of a Jewish cultural center.
Officials accused foreign forces and “enemies of Russia” of organizing the riots. Muftis of the North Caucasus spoke out against the anti-Semitic actions, saying that they were incited by provocateurs.
