Russia tightened security in its Muslim-majority North Caucasus region on Tuesday after a weekend anti-Semitic riot there, and the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya ordered that rioters be shot dead if they fail to heed warnings.
President Vladimir Putin held an emergency meeting with top security officials on Monday evening after rioters in the southern region of Dagestan stormed an airport on Sunday to “catch” Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv.
The unrest followed several other anti-Semitic incidents in recent days in North Caucasus in response to Israel’s war against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza. Israel has urged Moscow to protect Israelis and Jews in Russian jurisdictions.
The airport riot, which some Jewish leaders likened to Tsarist-era pogroms, left at least 20 people injured and resulted in over 80 detentions. It also seemed to catch authorities off-guard — it was hours before security forces regained control of the airport in Makachkala.