Blockade of Nardaran

The village of Nardaran is virtually blockaded. On Saturday the entrance to the village was under heavy police guard. Entry and exit are very limited. For the second day the settlement is not supplied with electricity and its fixed telephone lines are disconnected. The gas station nearby closed. There were interruptions in the delivery of bread and other food.

Recall that on November 26 a special operation was conducted in Nardaran against the believers, as a result of which 14 people were arrested, led by a Shiite theologian, leader of the movement Muslim Unity Taleh Bagirzadeh. Two police officers and four civilians were killed. Subsequently, another believer also died.

The situation in the village on Saturday evening remained tense.

As the correspondent of Turan was told by one of the elders of the village Natig Kerimov, despite promises, the bodies of the victims were not given for burial on Saturday.

The number of victims on the part of civilians has increased to five. Killed in the incident, Abbas Hussein was a resident of Ganja, and Sarvan Safarov was from Masalli. Their bodies will be sent to the areas where they lived. The bodies of Akbar Babayev and the brothers Rafael and Farahim Bunyadov will be brought to Nardaran. They will be buried in the village.

On the question of which of the officials promised to return the bodies, Karimov replied: "Nobody wants to talk with us and nobody listens to us. But in Baku, we have respectable friends - natives of Nardaran, and they negotiate. Maybe tomorrow the bodies will be brought. Our representatives said that the issue was delayed due to the forensic examination," Karimov said.

He also pointed to the lack of clarity about the fate of the detainees injured.

According to Karimov, since Friday, November 27 "there has been a passport regime in the village."

Police have tightened control at the entrances. Interestingly, along with restrictions on entry to people with no Nardaran residence permit, at the same time many Nardaranis are not released from the village. "Yesterday and today the people could not go to work and to school. Several of Nardaranis, who worked at the bakery in the village of Bakikhanov were fired from their job," said Karimov.

Because of the restrictions on the entry, pilgrims cannot visit the Nardaran sanctuary.

For the second day the village has no electricity or fixed telephone lines.

According to Karimov, the residents are forced to cut down trees for firewood and to burn them.

Two gas stations have closed nearby.

There have been interruptions in the delivery of bread and food products. Many vehicles with food products were not allowed to the village. Just a few of them were able to enter through the back roads.

Meanwhile, in Imam Hussein Square the massive rally of Nardaran residents continues. They make fires for heating and lighting. -06C--