Analysts have ruled out the terrorist nature of the shootout in Dagestan.

The shootout with security forces in Nizhny Dzhengutai was sparked by a domestic dispute, in which police officers intervened. However, analysts have not ruled out the possibility that the shooting could have been provoked by the unprofessional actions of security forces.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the police officers wounded in the shootout in the village of Nizhny Dzhengutai are in stable condition, the Dagestan Ministry of Health reported on its Telegram channel on the evening of March 31. According to the ministry, the wounded are recovering. The Soviet District Court of Makhachkala arrested a Dagestani resident suspected of attempting to kill police officers.

The Chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev, provided details of the incident.

"The participants in the shootout had debt and financial issues. When the conflict began, police officers were driving by and arrived just as the shootout broke out. So, we can say that they became involved in the shootout due to a domestic dispute," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He rules out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

"I don't know anything about the participants themselves yet. But I'm interested in learning all the details and finding out where the accused are now. I plan to look into this matter. "As for talk of terrorist attacks, that's out of the question in this case," he noted.

A Dagestani journalist also rules out any connection with terrorists.

"As for the context or connection with terrorism, I believe it's absent. At the same time, I don't rule out the possibility that the police officers could have been involved in this showdown, that is, a party to the conflict. They most likely ended up there by accident," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on condition of anonymity.

According to him, members of cells of various terrorist organizations don't behave that way. "They don't start fights to get someone involved. And if it were a cell, the Ministry of Internal Affairs likes to highlight such incidents." This gives them additional opportunities in the eyes of the federal center," he noted.

Magomed Shamilov, Chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Internal Affairs and Prosecutor's Office Employees, believes the shootout was the result of a domestic conflict.

"No, there is definitely no terrorist context here, otherwise the Ministry of Internal Affairs would have been talking loudly about it. It was a domestic conflict, and the police tried to calm the participants, but they were unable to," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He believes the issue of the professionalism of the police should be raised.

"I've said many times that they hire anyone they can get their hands on; there are no professional employees who have received the necessary education, skills, and knowledge to do their job competently in such situations. "They most likely misjudged the situation," he noted.

There are no signs that terrorists shot at the police in Nizhny Dzhengutai, says Interior Ministry Colonel Amir Kolov.

"The cause of this shootout could have been the unprofessional actions of the police officers themselves, which provoked the shooting, or interpersonal relations between the parties to the conflict. The conflict's outcome could also be due to the rapidly declining authority of police officers in recent years, especially in Dagestan, as ordinary people report rude behavior on the part of police officers who, in pursuit of performance indicators or personal gain—neither of which is mutually exclusive—commit numerous human rights violations," he told the Caucasian Knot.

Such violations, in his opinion, lead to disastrous results.

"We're talking about fabricating evidence of ordinary citizens' involvement in crimes, followed by the initiation of criminal cases; criminal treatment of former colleagues who suffered in the line of duty; blackmailing people with unauthorized searches, illegal detentions, and arrests of relatives and loved ones, through slander and criminal provocation; and forcing young men to sign contracts to be sent to the Special Military District. Given all these police actions, it's not surprising that a negative opinion of the police in general is developing among ordinary people, and that citizens are taking measures to protect themselves, having lost trust in these law enforcement officers, sometimes even engaging in gunfire with them," he noted.