Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Law-enforcement agencies in Azerbaijan have launched a special operation to quiet mounting unrest in a heavily Islamic suburb of the capital that has left seven people dead.
A joint statement released by the agencies says interior troops and police units were deployed to the Nardarn neighborhood in northern Baku on Tuesday to restore order after violence broke out last week during the arrest of a radical Islamic leader. Officials say the resulting clashes left two policemen and five local residents dead, while three residents were hospitalized with injuries.
Among other demands, protesters are calling for authorities to release Taleh Bagirov. The leader of the conservative Islamic group Muslim Union, Bagirov has frequently called for the secular government of oil-rich Azerbaijan to adopt a more Islamic way of life.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
