Two Russian areas prohibit the Telegram app for security concerns.

(Reuters) – Authorities in two Russian districts have barred the Telegram messenger due to worries that it may be used by opponents, according to a regional digital development minister reported by the TASS news agency on Saturday.

Dagestan and Chechnya are mostly Muslim regions in southern Russia, where intelligence agencies have reported an uptick in militant Islamist activities.

“It (Telegram) is often used by enemies, an example of which is the riots at Makhachkala airport,” said Yuri Gamzatov, Dagestan’s digital development minister, adding that the decision to block the messenger was taken at the federal level.

Gamzatov was alluding to an anti-Israel riot in Dagestan in October 2023, in which hundreds of protestors rushed an airport and attempted to harm passengers coming on a flight from the Jewish state. There were no injuries among the passengers, and numerous persons have been charged in connection with the event.

The plane’s arrival was reported on local Telegram channels, where individuals called for anti-Semitic violence. Telegram denounced the incident and announced that it will ban the channels.

Telegram did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the blockages in Russia.

Based in Dubai and established by Russian-born Pavel Durov, the messenger has about 1 billion users and is popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet countries.

Moscow attempted but failed to shut Telegram in 2018, and has previously demanded that the platform hand over user data. Durov is now under formal investigation in France as part of an inquiry into organised crime on the app.

Gamzatov, Dagestan’s minister, said Telegram may be unblocked in the future, but urged users to switch to other messengers in the interim.