Russia's Dagestan have left at least 14 people dead, sparking outrage and condemnation from around the world. These senseless acts of violence highlight the ongoing religious tensions in the region and raise serious concerns about the safety and security of religious minorities.
These attacks are a stark reminder of the importance of protecting freedom of religion and ensuring that all individuals are able to worship peacefully without fear of persecution or violence. The targeting of places of worship is not only a violation of human rights but also an attack on the fundamental values of tolerance and coexistence.
The dead included an Orthodox priest, Nikolai Kotelnikov. More than two dozen others were injured in what appeared to be a coordinated attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Derbent. Gunmen also attacked the city’s only synagogue, though it was apparently empty at the time.
Footage published on social media from Derbent showed a group of gunmen engaged in heavy fire with police. Officials said the Derbent synagogue was set on fire and a clip from the scene appeared to show flames coming out of the building, which is listed as a Unesco heritage site.
Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, located about 75 miles north along the Caspian Sea coast. According to local authorities, at least one police officer was killed and six others injured.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in the volatile region. “We understand who is behind the organisation of the terrorist attacks and what goal they pursued,” Melikov said, without disclosing further details.
Back then President Vladimir Putin had insisted that "Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists” because it “demonstrates a unique example of interfaith harmony and inter-religious and inter-ethnic unity”.
And yet three months ago Russia’s domestic security service, the FSB, reported that it had thwarted an IS plot to attack a Moscow synagogue.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russians have been led to believe that their principal adversaries are Ukraine and the "collective West". That’s a message Russian authorities are reluctant to change, to avoid sparking public doubts about the official narrative.
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