Up to a thousand people have blocked the entrance and exit of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. Local residents are looking for Israeli citizens among the passengers, who presumably arrived from Tel Aviv. The police units that arrived at the scene are unable to handle the situation, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to the Radio Liberty project Realii.
Groups of people from the gathered crowd are checking the departing cars, as reported by a Makhachkala resident who is flying to Moscow:
'There are very few police officers, and the ones who are present can't control the people. Some individuals are trying to break into the airport building itself. At the same time, dozens of people trying to fly out of Makhachkala today simply can't get inside.'
Later, social media began to spread messages that protesters had allegedly entered the airport's premises and reached the runway.
Other local residents reported on the traffic jams that had formed. According to one of them, people from the crowd even checked the police cars.
Eyewitnesses also note that there were at least a thousand people present.
'From time to time, they chant anti-Semitic slogans and shout "AllÄhu Akbar!" The police ask them to disperse, but no one listens,' another source told the news outlet.
Subsequently, it became known that the Investigative Committee of Russia for Dagestan had opened a criminal case into the mass unrest.
The Red Wings airline plane landed at 7:17 local time, according to Flight Radar 24 data. However, the SOTA Telegram channel noted that this flight is mainly used for connections to Moscow, so the majority of passengers 'guaranteed' did not plan to stay in Makhachkala.
The Head of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, accused 'Russia's enemies' of fueling anti-Semitic sentiments. The muftis of the North Caucasus expressed their opposition to anti-Semitic actions, stating that provocateurs were inciting these sentiments.
