News Mania Desk/ Agnibeena Ghosh/24th June 2024
In a tragic escalation of violence, fifteen police officers were among those killed during attacks on a synagogue, a police station, and two churches in Russia’s restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. These coordinated assaults on Sunday underscore a troubling trend of increasing violence across Russia over the past year.
According to Russian authorities, four civilians were also killed in the attacks. The assailants, armed with automatic rifles, targeted places of worship in Makhachkala, the republic’s capital, and Derbent. The attackers were identified as members of an international terrorist organization, although specific details were not provided, as reported by TASS, a state-run news agency.
Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov urged the public to remain calm as a manhunt ensued on Sunday evening. TASS reported that four gunmen were killed in a shootout with police. Governor Melikov addressed the situation on the Telegram app, emphasizing that the attackers aimed to instill panic and fear, but vowed that Dagestanis would not succumb to their terror.
These attacks highlight concerns about Russia’s internal security, especially as critics argue that authorities have been focusing resources on suppressing political dissent rather than addressing domestic terrorist threats. Senior Russian officials have accused Ukraine and Western countries of attempting to destabilize Russia.
Footage shared on social media from Makhachkala depicted a police vehicle engulfed in flames and smoke billowing from what witnesses identified as the synagogue in Derbent. The fire services managed to extinguish the flames by late Sunday evening, but significant damage was done to the synagogue. Additionally, gunmen attacked a police car in Sergokala, south of Makhachkala, with some assailants attempting to flee by car. Thirteen police officers and three civilians were hospitalized as a result of the violence. In Makhachkala, a Russian Orthodox priest and a security guard were killed.
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia announced late on Sunday that the active phase of the counterterrorism operation in Derbent had concluded.
Russia has a long history of dealing with terrorist attacks, particularly following the Kremlin’s two wars with Chechen separatists in the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus. Sunday’s events underline the ongoing threat of interethnic and religious violence in the region.
Dagestan, also a Muslim-majority region, has been the site of numerous bombings and attacks over the years, often attributed to militant Islamic fighters by Moscow. Many homegrown extremists left Russia in the mid-2010s to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria. However, ISIS-Khorasan, a branch of the Islamic State revived in Afghanistan, has recently launched new attacks on Russia. In March, the group carried out a deadly attack at a Moscow concert hall, resulting in over 140 deaths and hundreds of injuries. More recently, Russian security forces stormed a detention center in Rostov-on-Don, killing six men linked to the Islamic State who had taken two guards hostage.
The North Caucasus region, including Dagestan, has also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents since the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October. Following Hamas attacks, a mob stormed Makhachkala airport anticipating the arrival of a flight from Israel, chanting antisemitic slogans and waving Palestinian flags. Although no Israelis were harmed, the incident drew condemnation from Muslim leaders in Dagestan and prompted calls from the Israeli government for Russia to protect Israeli citizens and Jews.
In the wake of Sunday’s attacks, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, president of the Jewish Communities of Russia, urged the Jewish community to remain calm. This plea for peace and solidarity comes as Dagestan and the broader North Caucasus region grapple with rising violence and ethnic tensions.
