Hundreds of protesters in Azerbaijan attacked government buildings in the northeastern city of Quba after a local governor criticized residents of the area, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The riots started today after Rauf Habibov, a district governor, gave a speech in which he blamed locals for their readiness “to sell their land, families and motherland” for about $40, according to the report by RFE/RL’s Azeri service. The demonstrators, who broke windows and set fire to the governor’s house nearby, demanded Habibov’s resignation. Quba is 164 kilometers north of Baku, near the Azeri border with Russia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zulfugar Agayev in Baku at zagayev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Hellmuth Tromm at htromm@bloomberg.net