"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms Sunday's terrorist attacks against Jewish and Christian religious sites and members of the security forces in the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation, in which at least 20 people were reported killed and dozens more injured." , said Guterres' spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement.
Guterres also conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, the people and the Government of the Russian Federation and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Sunday's armed attacks against Orthodox churches and at least one synagogue in Dagestan, in the Russian Caucasus, left 20 dead and 46 injured, according to a new report released today by local authorities.
The previous report showed 19 dead and 25 injured.
"Yesterday's [Sunday] terrorist attack in the Republic of Makhachkala and Derbent left 46 people injured, including civilians and members of the security forces. Unfortunately, 20 people were killed," declared the Ministry of Health of this predominantly Muslim region.
The Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK, its Russian acronym) said today that it had completed the operation to put an end to the armed attacks.
"Due to the neutralization of threats to the life and health of citizens, it was decided to end the anti-terrorist operation" in Dagestan from 06:15 (Lisbon time), said NAK, cited by Russian news agencies.
Also today, after the attacks, the Russian Presidency ruled out the return of an "Islamist insurrection" to the Republic of Dagestan, stating that the population is "consolidated in the face of terrorism".
"Russia has changed, society has consolidated and these terrorist demonstrations are not supported by society, neither in Russia nor in Dagestan," said Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked by journalists whether the Kremlin (presidency) feared the return of an "Islamist insurrection" in the country.
The question posed during the presidential spokesperson's usual press conference referred to the events that occurred in the 2000s, following the second Chechen war.
Despite the statements from the Kremlin spokesman, Putin has not yet commented directly on the attacks attributed to terrorists in Dagestan.
In the new report, the governor of the Russian republic with a Muslim majority in the Caucasus, Sergei Melikov, highlighted that among the fatal victims were security forces agents and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest.
Melikov said gunmen opened fire on Sunday at two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police station in two cities in southern Russia, declaring three days of mourning.
He also reported that six armed militants were killed.
Hours earlier, Russian police announced that they had shot down four alleged terrorists in the city of Makhachkala, three of whom were identified as the sons and nephew of the head of the area's main district, Sergokali, who was also detained.
Meanwhile, in the city of Derbent, 110 kilometers south of Makhachkala, where a church and a synagogue were also attacked, clashes between Russian authorities and alleged terrorists continued.
The police chief of the city of Ogni, who had gone to support colleagues in neighboring Derbent, was fatally shot, the Russian Interior Ministry said.
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