Azernews.Az

Over a thousand protesters took to the streets in the northern Azerbaijani region of Guba on Thursday to demonstrate against the mayor over his insulting remarks about local residents that recently appeared on YouTube videos.

The protesters, gathering outside the executive authority building, demanded an apology and resignation of Rauf Habibov, who called Guba residents "traitors" for selling land cheaply to Azerbaijanis from other regions.

Habibov came out before the protesters and apologized, but they continued the protest, clashing with police officers who arrived at the scene. The rally participants broke the windows of the mayor’s office building and set fire to auxiliary buildings, reports say.

Interior troops were pulled to the site. Tear gas and rubber bullets were used in an attempt to disperse the protesters and some of them were detained.

Tensions escalated further when a group of protesters gathered outside mayor Habibov’s home and set it ablaze. Firefighters put down the fire several hours later.

Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov and Vahid Ahmadov, an MP from Guba, arrived at the site of the rally.

Addressing the crowd, Minister Mammadov apologized on behalf of the Guba mayor, calling on the protesters to calm down and pledging that the government would thoroughly review their concerns.

MP Ahmadov, in turn, said those detained during the protest would be released.

The demonstrators gathering outside the Guba mayor’s office dispersed later in the day, but a group of them approached the regional police department and demanded release of the detained protesters.

Shortly thereafter, interior troops’ officers arrived outside the police department, and a clash ensued. Authorities said four people were hospitalized with injuries -- three police officers and one civilian. A journalist was reported injured as well.

The protesters dispersed later on Thursday after all of the 18 detained protesters were released, local media said.

The protest is the largest public demonstration to occur outside Baku since President Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003.

Habibov, 47, has served as head of Guba’s executive authority since 2007. Previously, he worked in the construction sector for many years, acting as the director of Gunesh small enterprise and deputy director of Mustegil Balbelan enterprise.