Soldiers block Dagestani village of Balakhani, local residents assert

In the village of Balakhani of the Untsukul District of Dagestan, military vehicles blocked the entrance to the village, and the houses were searched. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by local residents.

In the village, there are more than 200 units of military vehicles and a lot of armed men, including those in masks. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by a local resident, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons.

According to the woman, yet on November 29, the military men installed outside the village several checkpoints and did not allow the local residents to leave the village. Initially, it was reported that some facilities in the village were mined. According to the woman, when the local residents began to ask again, the military men in general declined to comment on the reason for enhancement of security measures.

According to her, she had never seen such a large number of armed vehicles and military men.

Another female local resident, a teacher at the secondary school of the village of Balakhani, stated that in the morning, military vehicles drove into the village. According to the woman, the area adjacent to the school became a collection point for the military men.

"At that time, there were classes of the first shift. About during the third lesson, all people heard gunfire. We all were frightened, and the children began to cry. The gunfire was carried out from the area adjacent to the school, and they fired at a cave outside the village. The classes at school were cancelled, and all hurriedly left home. There is a panic in the village, and searches were conducted in the houses. The school became a place for distribution of soldiers, who were sent out to conduct searches in the houses," the woman stated.

Officials from the Untsukul ROVD (District Interior Division) have denied the information about the introduction of the CTO (counterterrorist operation) regime in the village of Balakhani. They have stated that there, "military men just conduct a check to reveal the persons, involved in illegal armed formations (IAFs)."