Violent Confrontation in Dmanisi

After the bloody confrontation in Dmanisi, the “Mtavari Channel” has found out that the police did not respond accordingly during the conflict. According to the people, the police only questioned ethnic Azerbaijani youths.

 As for the causes of the conflict, one of the witnesses told the “Mtavari Channel” that the situation got tense after a disagreement in one of the small markets nearby.

After the first confrontation, the number of  locals participating in the confrontation increased aggravating the situation.

Within the center of Dmanisi, the situation got even worse since, as it can be seen  in the reporter’s footage, the both sides were armed with wooden sticks and stones. On the spot the police and special forces were mobilized. 
After these events the Ministry of internal Affairs released several statements urging the citizens to remain calm and comply with the law. 

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs, as the agency responsible for maintaining law and order, calls on the citizens gathered in Dmanisi to comply with the law and remain calm. The police will act within the mandate given to them and respond to any violations" the agency wrote.

 According the ministry, the people who took part in the 16  May confrontations were identified and the case is already being investigated

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs once again calls on the opposing parties to obey the lawful demands of the police and to remain calm so as not to escalate the ongoing conflict into an artificial ethnic confrontation" the agency wrote.

Not long after these statements, the so called ecomigrants broke through the police lines, and attacked the ethnically Azerbaijani people.

The situation escalated after ethnic Azerbaijani tried to protest against the violence towards them and called for an investigation into  the previous day’s developments.