Incident

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Incident

Members of organized armed group attempting to cross Russia from Azerbaijan detained

30 July 2009 08:11 (UTC +04:00)

He said there were citizens of France and Austria among them.
â€œA group of officers of the ministry are working. All materials are being documented, related bodies will be informed through the diplomatic channels,â€ he said.
Yedelev did not concretely say when the armed group attempted to cross the border.

Azerbaijani border guards prevented trespassing attempt by the armed group of 6-7 at about 03.00 on July 16, 2009 in the territory of Zagatala Border Guard Unit of the Azerbaijan State Border Service near the state border of Azerbaijan with Russia and Georgia.

The trespassers fired on the border guards and wounded soldier Isayev Bahruz Asgar. One of the trespassers was killed with reprisal fire and one wounded. Other members of the group could escape because of darkness and mountainous area. An Austrian passport was found in the bag of killed trespasser. His name was shown as Salman Umdayev in his passport.

A few days after the incident, three members of the armed group were arrested. One of them was detained by border guards and the other two by Balakan region police. The gunmen detained by Interior Ministry officers were Sukhrab Merzoyev, 34, and Khasan Khaldikharoyev. They intended to leave for Pankisi gorge.

The General Prosecutorâ€™s Office launched a criminal case under article 120 (deliberate murder), 228 (illegal purchase, transfer, selling, storage, transportation and carrying of fire-arms, accessories to it, supplies, explosives), 318 (illegal crossing border of the Azerbaijan Republic) of the Criminal Code.