Police launch operation to restore order in Nardaran

The operation started at 8 a.m. and is overseen by President Ilham Aliyev, the Interior Ministry said on its website. 

Police and security forces accompanied by a limited number of military vehicles entered the village and erected checkpoints, the ministry said. 

The residents were told not to put up resistance to security officers. 

The operation follows a clash in the town on Nov. 26 between police and supporters of a religious group called the Movement of Muslim Unity.

Six people, including two police officers, were killed in the clash. The group’s leader, Taleh Bagirzada, was arrested along with 24 others.

Police seized large numbers of weapons and ammunition from the group, which seeks to change the "constitutional order and impose Sharia law," the ministry said.