Violence, gunfire erupts at demo in Russian Muslim region

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Violence, gunfire erupts at demo in Russian Muslim region

by Vitor Vilaskas

Sat Jan 26, 1:55 PM ET

NAZRAN, Russia (AFP) - Security forces fired in the air and beat

stone-throwing protestors Saturday to disperse a banned anti-

government rally in Russia's largely Muslim province of Ingushetia.

Automatic rifle fire erupted as police and paramilitary forces chased

protestors through the centre of Ingushetia's biggest town, Nazran,

near Chechnya in the Caucasus mountains of southern Russia.

There were no immediate reports of serious casualties, indicating

that the shooting was in the air.

Smoke and flames poured from the offices of the state newspaper

Serdalo and at Ingushetia's main hotel Assa. It was not clear who

started the fires.

A local state television employee told AFP that a mob had attempted

to torch the television offices, but had been beaten back.

The approximately three hours of violence broke out after about 500

demonstrators ignored warnings and a heavy security presence to rally

on Nazran's central square against corruption and human rights abuses.

They carried placards calling for the resignation of the province's

widely unpopular president, Murat Zyazikov.

Hundreds of police, including special forces wearing helmets and

black masks, beat the protestors off the square and pursued them in

side streets. Demonstrators fought back with stones and bottles,

including one filled with burning petrol.

" Why are you attacking us? We are brothers! " protestors shouted to

the police, who were also apparently local ethnic-Ingush.

Hundreds of special forces, police, and regular troops, as well as

two armoured fighting vehicles, could be seen deployed. A military

helicopter circled over the town.

Half a dozen Russian journalists were detained while attempting to

cover the incident, reported Echo of Moscow radio, two of whose

reporters were among those taken to a police station.

Two members of the human rights organisation Memorial were also

detained while attempting to monitor the rally, Echo of Moscow

reported.

On Friday Russia's FSB secret services announced that Nazran and

other parts of Ingushetia had been declared " counter-terrorism

zones " . The designation gives emergency powers to security forces to

stop traffic and enter homes and businesses.

Organisers of the rally said it was called to protest against

corruption and dozens of disappearances and murders blamed by human

rights activists on government death squads. They called another

rally for February 23, the news site www.ingushetiya.ru said.

Idris Khamkhoiyev, an unemployed resident of Nazran, said the Ingush

were fed up with the authorities' failure to address widespread

poverty and human rights abuses.

" If they didn't disperse us but had listened to us today, then we

might have avoided this situation. We have to shout for them to

notice us, " he said.

In November police fired automatic weapons in the air to disperse

hundreds of people taking part in a similar protest.

The Ingush share close ethnic links with the Chechens, as well as the

Sufi Muslim religion.

However they have never joined Chechnya's independence movement and

were largely spared two devastating wars conducted in Chechnya by

Russia's armed forces over the last 15 years.

Meanwhile, The Other Russia coalition said that a demonstration in

the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad planned for Sunday had been banned

and two of their activists arrested for what it said were political

reasons.

" We are abandoning the protest tomorrow, because the police called us

and warned us all the protestors would be arrested if they came to

demonstrate, " said Sviatoslav Voronin, spokesman for the coalition's

local branch.