At least 17 people protesting the treatment of the Rohingya people have been detained near the Myanmar Embassy in Moscow, the state-run TASS news agency cited a law enforcement source as saying Monday.
“Among them are 15 men and two women. They are all North Caucasus natives,” the source said, adding that up to 25 people remain near the cordoned diplomatic mission.
Thousands meanwhile gathered in the capital of the republic of Chechnya on Monday in a rally to show support for the Muslim minority in Myanmar.
In Grozny, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov described the treatment of the minority as a “genocide of Muslims” in remarks that were televised live.
“Mankind has not yet seen such massive cruelty over the elderly, women, children,” Kadyrov told the crowd, estimated at more than 1 million by regional authorities.
The mass rally comes a day after several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the Myanmar Embassy in Moscow for an unsanctioned protest to express solidarity with the Rohingya.
A similar protest also took place in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan in Russia’s North Caucasus.
In a video uploaded to YouTube over the weekend, Kadyrov pledged to “oppose Russia’s position” if it “supports the devils who commit crimes today.”
The UN estimates nearly 90,000 Rohingya have fled reported killings and rapes to Bangladesh in the past week and a half.
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