Demonstrations over rising food prices engulfed Azerbaijan this week, with the latest epicenter in the northeastern city of Quba. Police used water cannons, batons and tears gas to break up the protest. Several people were reportedly detained, although the exact number is unknown.
Turan
reported that circa 5,000 locals gathered on Friday morning at a place named the Old Bus Station to protest unemployment and high cost of living. Most protestors are residents of nearby villages where socio-economic problems are particularly dire, according to Turan. District chief Yashar Mammadov met with demonstrators and urged them to leave, according to
RFE/RL
. However, the protest continued unabated.
Security forces cordoned off protestors and used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse the strike. Entry to the city was cut off, and police set up checkpoints on roads leading to Quba. A number of security officers were stationed in the city. They interrupted a Friday prayer claiming that they received information that a bomb had been placed in a mosque. Locals, however, believe this was an excuse to prevent a gathering.
Later officials conceded that no explosive had been found at the site, per RFE/RL.
Protestors enraged by unemployment called for recalculating bank loans and demanded that their overdue social allowances be paid off. They also complained about what they described as the arbitrariness of local officials.
The demonstration in Quba, 168km north of Baku, is the latest in a string of protest spawned by price hikes on staple goods, notably flour and bread. Similar actions took place this week in Fizuli, Aqsu, Aqcabardi, Siyazan, and Lankaran, where scores were arrested, including opposition activists from Musavat and the Popular Front.
