Day: June 26, 2024

Bolivia’s presidential palace has been stormed by soldiers as the country’s ex-president warned of an unfolding “coup,” the BBC reports.

“We are going to recover this homeland,” General Juan José Zúñiga told reporters from Murillo Square after it was taken by troops, according to the El Deber newspaper.

Former president Evo Morales accused Gen Zúñiga of planning to seize power, calling on supporters of democracy to strike and block roads.

President Luis Arce denounced what he called “irregular” troop movements, saying “democracy must be respected.”

In more pointed language, Mr Morales wrote: “A group of the Challapata Special Regiment ‘Mendez Arcos’ took over Plaza Murillo with snipers.

“This seems to indicate that they prepared the coup d’état in advance.

“I ask democratically-minded people to defend the homeland from certain military groups that act against democracy and the people.”

Bolivian minister Maria Nela Prada published a video on her Facebook account showing the view from a window in a government building.

She said she was witnessing a “coup attempt.”

“I’m in the palace of the people. As you can see this is the Plaza Murillo taken by armed tanks and troops. We understand it is a faction of the military,” she said.

She said military units had taken positions at all four corners of the square and were not letting anyone enter.

“They launched this operation in a totally irregular manner,” she said.

Mr Morales, the first president to come from Bolivia’s indigenous majority, carried out a radical programme after winning power in 2005, aimed at addressing extreme social divisions and inequalities.

He resigned in 2019 and was succeeded by opposition senator Jeanine Áñez, who declared herself interim president in November 2019.

Mr Arce won the October 2020 presidential election, returning the Mas socialist party to power.

Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan on Wednesday defended Yerevan’s recent weapons acquisitions, saying the latest bolstering of its military capabilities aims to “protect and defend the sovereign territory of Armenia.”

France announced last week that through a new deal with a French arms manufacturer, Armenia would receive CAESAR Howitzer advance missile system. Yerevan confirmed on Tuesday that Armenia was on track to receive 36 Howitzer over the next 15 months.

The latest arms deal with France has angered not only Azerbaijan, but also Russia, with both accusing Paris of destabilizing the region. Official Baku has said that France is derailing the peace talks with Armenia, while Moscow is accusing Paris of encroaching on its area of influence and advancing the West’s anti-Russia agenda.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing on Wednesday that France is using Yerevan “as a tool to achieve its own opportunistic goals and is not guided by the interests of Armenia and the Armenian people.”

“This is a typical ploy for Paris. to be everywhere and not take responsibility,” Zakharova said, adding that France had “ a million opportunities to resolve conflicts,” one of them as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group.

She said that the France’s true intentions were released through its “unconditional support for the Kyiv region, which has been pursuing an anti-Russia course. “Paris was never interested in peace agreements,” Zakharova said.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson claimed that the West is bitter and jealous at the fact that Russia had mediated a road map with Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the existing conflict between the two countries. She said the West now is looking at the Caucasus “as a zone of interests and is unable to achieve any progress for peace, thus it is laying the groundwork for more chaos in the region.

She called the Western machinations “revenge for Russia’s peace-loving efforts.”

Zakharova stressed that countries such as France, which are making proposals that will impact the region, are bad actors. She warned that, in the end, France’s actions will only end in the suffering of “the peaceful people.”

Grigoryan, Armenia’s national security chief, said that Armenia’s technical and military collaboration with Russia has dropped from 96 percent to less that 10 percent.

“It was Russia that decided not to supply weapons and ammunition [to Armenia]. By the way, they have not yet fully fulfilled what was stipulated by the contracts. It is interesting that even in the conditions of such problems, when they regularly complain that Armenia buys weapons from other countries, they still do not continue supplies under the contracts signed in 2021 and 2022,” said Grigoryan.

He said that the further development of Armenia’s relations with Russia depends on how Moscow responds and reacts to that problems that exist, including contracts that were enacted in 2021.

Grigoryan said that the delays in delivery has been attributed to the Ukraine war.

However, he also said that certain circles have suggested that if Moscow were to provide weapons to Armenia it would make Yerevan’s predicament much tougher.

“I want to say that a high-ranking official from Armenia was once told ‘if Russia supplies us with weapons and ammunition, our positions will become tough.’ And that is also the reason why they are not supplying them,” Grigoryan added.

Armenia’s authorities have regularly complained about the delays in delivery of Russian military equipment that Yerevan has said it has paid for. While the exact amount has not officially been released, some analysts put the price tag at $250 million to $400 million.

Terrorist attack in Rostov Detention Center and Dagestan

Over eight days in June 2024, terrorist attacks with a religious undertone occurred in two regions of southern Russia: the Rostov region and Dagestan. The hostage-takers in the Rostov detention center immediately identified themselves as followers of the banned “Islamic State” in Russia. The attackers on the Orthodox church and two synagogues in Dagestan have not made such a statement, but the targets they chose indicate a religious motive. “Caucasian Knot” has prepared an analysis comparing the methods of the attacks in the Rostov detention center and Dagestan.

Hostage-taking in Rostov Detention Center

On June 16, 2024, detainees in Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don took two staff members hostage.

The hostage-takers immediately declared themselves members of the banned terrorist organization “Islamic State” in Russia. They recorded two video messages with their demands and posted them online. In footage published by the Telegram channel “112,” one of the captors stated that Islamic State members had taken over the “Rostov central,” where their “brothers” were being held. The video showed the Islamic State flag and headbands with Arabic script on the prisoners. Many commentators noted the long beards of the hostage-takers.

The mufti of the Rostov region, Akhmed Abusupyanov, came to negotiate with the hostage-takers. According to him, when he entered the facility, three prisoners with a hostage came to meet him. They did not respond to his request to release the hostages, which he described as “futile.”

The raid began after the mufti left the detention center. Five militants were killed, one was injured and sent to intensive care in critical condition. Both hostages were freed.

Three of the hostage-takers—Shamil Akiev, Tamerlan Gireev, and Azamat Tsitskiev—joined the Islamic State in April 2022 and planned an attack on the Supreme Court of Karachay-Cherkessia using an improvised explosive device. In 2023, they were sentenced to long prison terms.

The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case regarding the hostage-taking. According to the investigation, the hostage situation in Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don had been planned for several months, and the hostage-takers’ actions were coordinated from outside.

Attacks on religious sites in Dagestan

Just over a week after the events in the Rostov detention center, on June 23, 2024, militants in Dagestan attacked an Orthodox church, two synagogues, and law enforcement officers. The attackers have not yet declared themselves supporters of the “Islamic State,” but their actions were clearly directed at non-Muslim religious buildings.

According to the Investigative Committee, 19 people were killed in the attack: 15 police officers and four civilians. Five militants were also killed. Later, the Ministry of Health reported that the death toll had risen to 20, with 46 injured.

The attacks on the church and synagogues in Makhachkala and Derbent began almost simultaneously. Initial reports of gunfire came from Derbent. The Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that unknown individuals “fired at a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons” in Derbent.

It was later revealed that during the attack on the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Derbent, the assailants entered the church, shot the security guard, and killed a 66-year-old Orthodox priest. The attack occurred on one of the main Christian holidays, the Day of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost), which is celebrated by Orthodox Christians in Russia.

The attack on the synagogue in Derbent took place around 5:50 PM, 40 minutes before the evening prayer. A large fire broke out in the synagogue building. Around the same time, an attack was carried out on a synagogue in Makhachkala. The attackers left references to surahs and ayats from the Quran on the synagogue gates. Nearby, on Yermoshkina Street, there was a shootout between militants and police. The Holy Assumption Cathedral also came under fire, where 19 people took shelter after the shooting began.

Around 10 PM, in the center of the village of Sergokala, located 80 kilometers from Derbent, unknown individuals shot at a car with police officers, injuring one Ministry of Internal Affairs officer.

Two sons and a nephew of the head of the Sergokala district in Dagestan, Magomed Omarov, were found to be involved in the attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala and were killed. Omarov himself was detained, and his house was searched.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) declared a counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime in Dagestan on June 23. Around 8:00 AM Moscow time on June 24, the CTO regime was lifted.

The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case under the article on terrorism.

Expert opinions

The inscriptions left on the synagogue door in Derbent—“2:120” and “8:39”—refer to the 120th verse of the second surah of the Quran and the 39th verse of the eighth surah, according to the author of the Telegram channel “Ask Rasul.”

Experts interviewed by “Caucasian Knot” noted that extremists interpret these verses of the Quran to justify opposition to Jews and Christians. They also suggested that the date of the attack on the church—June 23—was chosen by the militants because it coincided with the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter period. This date in Christianity commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the founding of the Christian Church.

Experts from the American Institute for the Study of War concluded that the Dagestan attacks were likely carried out by the Caucasus cell of the “Islamic State”—”Wilayah al-Qawqaz,” which previously claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack at “Crocus City Hall” in Krasnogorsk, Moscow region.

Bolivian President Luis Arce denounced the “irregular mobilization” of some army units in La Paz and former leader Evo Morales accused a top general of plotting a coup.

Heavily armed soldiers and armored vehicles were seen gathering in the central square, Plaza Murillo, while a Reuters witness saw an armored vehicle pushing into the presidential palace, which sits on the square, and soldiers rushing in.

“The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer,” General Juan Jose Zuniga told a local TV station.

Zuniga addressed reporters in the square prior to the assault on the national palace.

“Stop destroying, stop impoverishing our country, stop humiliating our army,” he said in full uniform, flanked by soldiers, insisting the action being taken was supported by the public.

Morales, who has publicly split with Arce although both belong to the same socialist movement, said his supporters would mobilize in support of democracy.

He accused Zuniga of seeking to stage a coup and announced a general work stoppage, including a call to block roadways.

“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” Morales said.

The harsh #Armenian–#Russian confrontation continues. Today, Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan accused Russia of taking Nagorno-Karabakh from the Armenians, returning it to #Azerbaijan, and then leaving. Grigoryan’s remarks have elicited a sharp response from… pic.twitter.com/e9HpGtL2E9

— Robert Ananyan (@robananyan) June 26, 2024

Georgia dealt an unexpected upset to the favorites, Portugal, and advanced to the knockout stage of EURO-2024.

Georgia’s top star, Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has been underwhelming in the previous two games, scored an early goal in the second minute. Giorgi Mikautadze converted the penalty kick on the 57th. It was his third goal in the senior tournament.

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili gave another top performance denying Portugal, who dominated the possession.

After a loss to Turkey and a draw with the Czech Republic, few believed that Georgia could beat group favorite Portugal, who had already qualified by beating two other teams.

All of Georgia is shedding tears of pure joy as a Euro-2024 debutante marks a historic victory at the championship.