The closure of Makhachkala airport has been reduced to October 31

The closure of Makhachkala airport has been reduced to October 31, the Federal Air Transport Agency said in a statement. He is cited by RIA Novosti.

Previously, the deadline for the resumption of airport operations was set for November 6. The decision is reportedly related to the stabilization of the situation in the city.

Now the Makhachkala air harbor will be closed until 2.59 (Moscow time) on October 31, 2023.

On Sunday, reports began to come in that in the capital of Dagestan, a group of local residents had entered the airport runway. The reason for this was the alleged arrival of a plane from Israel. As reported, local residents were going to find Israeli citizens among the arrivals.

There were riots, and security forces arrived at the scene to eliminate them. Mufti of Dagestan Akhmad Abdulaev called on Muslims in the region to remain calm, condemning the persecution of Israeli citizens. Subsequently, regional authorities reported that they had taken control of the situation, and the airport was cleared of people illegally staying there. Subsequently, the airport was closed, the alarm sounded, and local residents began to go home.

Later, the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the initiation of a criminal case. It was reported that more than 20 people were injured as a result of the incident, including law enforcement officers. 10 people were hospitalized, the condition of two was assessed as very serious.

The head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, said that the residents of Dagestan “empathize with the suffering of victims of the actions of unrighteous people and politicians and pray for peace in Palestine,” but qualified the incident at the airport as a gross violation of the law and promised a legal assessment to all those involved in the events at the airport.

The Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Tatyana Moskalkova, said that what happened in Makhachkala was organized with the aim of inciting ethnic hatred and destabilizing civil peace in the country. The head of North Ossetia, neighboring Dagestan, Sergei Menyailo called what happened in Makhachkala a provocation planned from outside.