Special Forces Shielded Children with Their Bodies
 |
Relatives
and neighbors of killed hostages attend the funeral ceremony
in the town of Beslan in the province of North Ossetia,
September 6, 2004. Flags flew at half-mast across Russia
at the start of national mourning for 338 people killed
by terrorists including, as reported, at least 9 Arabs and
other nationalities.
Photo
by Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Photo |
MOSCOW,
September 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Alpha and Vympel elite special
forces units lost ten members in the battles in Beslan and 26
were wounded, a spokesman for the Vympel veterans public organization
said.
Mostly senior
officers were killed. The Vympel unit lost seven officers and
the Alpha unit lost three. According to the spokesman, Vympel
unit had not lost so many men since it was created.
A FSB spokesman
announced on Monday in Vladikavkaz that the burial of the officers
would take place on Wednesday.
The spokesman
said that FSB special forces suffered such heavy losses because
the hostage rescue operation began spontaneously, when the roof
of the school’s gymnasium collapsed.
When the special
forces entered the gym, they saw a mass of bodies, both dead and
alive.
"The
officers started to take the living out of the school building,"
the spokesman said.
The terrorists,
who were on the upper floors in prepared positions, began to shoot
the escaping hostages and the officers and civilians who were
rescuing them. The FSB special forces shielded the children from
the bullets with their bodies.
"I understand
very well, the feelings of the officers and soldiers from the
Vympel and Alpha units," the spokesman said. "They acted
in the first place as fathers, brothers and sons, saving the children
at the cost of their own lives."
One of the
FSB officers, who carried a small girl away from the terrorists’
fire, was wounded in the head and only came out of a coma on Monday.
"We hope
he will recover," the spokesman said.
Other wounded
special forces officers were mostly wounded on their extremities,
but there are also more serious wounds, the spokesman said.
When visiting
the scene of the tragedy on September 4, President Putin said
that special services had sustained great losses.
"The
events developed quickly and unexpectedly. The special services
members behaved especially bravely," Mr. Putin said.
A
Day-by-Day acount of events related to Terrorist Attack on School:
September 6, 2004 – Day 6
**
Lavrov
Pays Tribute to Victims of Holocaust and Beslan
** Power
Structures Report Details of Beslan Attack
September 4, 2004 – Day 4
**
63
Die In North Ossetian Hospitals
** Addresses by Vladimir
Putin in Connection With Events in North Ossetia
** Bodies of 237 Killed
Extracted from Under School’s Debris
** General Prosecutor’s
Office: 322 People Including 155 Children Killed in Beslan
** Anxious Relatives
Gather in Beslan
** Minister Lavrov:
The Netherlands’ Demand Seems Blasphemous
September 3, 2004
– Day 3
**
No
Storming of the School to Free Hostages Was Planned
** Gym’s
Roof in School Collapses
**
School
Tragedy: 556 Survivors in Hospital
**
Another
50 School Hostages Rescued. Ranger Dies to Save Little Girls
**
Some
School Hostages Stay in Bandit Hands
**
Bandits
Take Refuge in School Wing. Squall Skirmish On
**
Transport
Corridor for Ambulances Being Arranged Near Beslan School
**
200
People Wounded, Fight Near Beslan Adminstration
**
Some
Hostages Still Inside the School, Evacuation Continues
**
Militants
Fire at People
**
Combat
Underway Near Seized School
**
Tens
of Children Break Away from Seized School
**
All
Children in Seized School Are Alive
**
Jordan
Condemns Terrorist Acts in Russia Aimed Against Innocent People
**
Relatives
and Acquaintances of Hostages Again Gather at Cultural Centre
in Beslan
September 2, 2004
– Day 2
**
Turkish
President Condemns Hostage-Taking in Beslan
** No Food, Water and
Medicines for School Hostages: Dr. Roshal
** Hostage Takers Release
Three Women with Babies
** Seven Casualties
in Terrorist Attack in Beslan, 354 Held Hostage
September 1, 2004 – Day 1
**
North
Ossetia: Terrorists Seize School-Arabs Behind Curtain?
** Do Not Succumb to
Fear and Hatred, Patriarch Alexis Calls Russia after Terror Acts
—
September 6, 2004 (Day 6) —
Lavrov
Pays Tribute to Victims of Holocaust and Beslan
JERUSALEM,
September 6 (RIA Novosti) – On Monday, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s
foreign minister, visited Yad Vashem, the Authority for the Remembrance
of the Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust.
Mr. Lavrov
attended a ceremony where wreaths were laid and a flame was lit
in the Memorial Hall.
Yad Vashem
was established in 1953 to pay tribute to the memory of the millions
of Jews killed by the Nazis and their allies during World War
II. Four years later, it opened to visitors. Apart from exhibits,
it contains a library, archives, theater, and the International
Institute for Holocaust Studies.
Mr. Lavrov
lit a candle at the Trinity Cathedral of the Russian clerical
mission in Jerusalem in memory of the victims of the terrorist
attack in Beslan.
According
to Archbishop Yelisei, head of the Russian clerical mission in
Jerusalem, a funeral service was held yesterday at all Russian
Orthodox cathedrals in memory of the innocent people brutally
murdered during the terrorist attack in Northern Ossetia.
During a short
conversation between Archbishop Yelisei and Mr. Lavrov, the archbishop
told the minister that the Trinity Cathedral was one of Russia’s
national shrines in Jerusalem.
Power
Structures Report Details of Beslan Attack
 |
A
man carries an injured boy from the beseiged school in North
Ossetia, Russia.
Photo
by Vladimir Suvorov / AFP
|
VLADIKAVKAZ,
September 6 (RIA Novosti) – Authorities have reported details of
the Beslan attack.
"Destabilization
of the situation must be avoided by all means," said Sergei
Fridinsky, deputy prosecutor general for the Southern Federal
District.
The gang had
32 members. Bodies of 30 bandits were found and one terrorist
captured. Another gunmen was torn apart by explosion, Fridinsky
said.
According
to him, the gang was "international": it included Chechens,
Tatars, Kazakhs, Koreans.
The national
belonging of the school attackers will be announced in news programs
of North Ossetian TV and radio.
As they were
approaching the school, the bandits were stopped by a policeman
who tried to detain them. They captured the policemen, but he
managed to flee in bustle, Fridinsky said.
Deputy Interior
Minister Chekalin confirmed that the gang had two women. "They
were blown up, the fragments of their bodies are being collected,"
deputy minister said.
Those who
ordered the terrorist attack will be identified and named soon,
an FSB officer said.
A total of
96 families will bury their 114 relatives, Chekalin said.
An engineer
group will provide security at the funeral. The cemeteries are
guarded. Reserve forces to provide for security of the funeral
have been delivered to the area, deputy minister said.
Chekalin added
that the resignation of North Ossetia’s interior minister Kazbek
Dzantiev had not been accepted.
The FSB officer
said the special forces officers killed during the hostage taking
would be buried on Tuesday.
—
September 4, 2004 (Day 4) —
63
Die In North Ossetian Hospitals
MOSCOW/BESLAN
(North Ossetia), Sept 4 – RIA Novosti. The North Ossetian Health
Ministry has told RIA Novosti that 63 people involved in the Beslan
hostage taking have died from their serious wounds in the republic’s
hospitals.
At 12:00 Moscow
time, ten people remained in a critical condition in intensive
care. According to the ministry, 70 people have been discharged
after receiving treatment.
The North
Ossetian Health Ministry informed RIA Novosti earlier that 477
former hostages, including 223 children, were being cared for
in the republic’s hospitals.
"Most
of the children are in the republic’s children’s hospital,"
the famous paediatrician, Leonid Roshal, told RIA in a telephone
interview. According to him, doctors have everything they need
to treat the children.
"Very
qualified people are working here," he said.
"I have
examined virtually all the children," the doctor continued.
"The majority of them have wounds that are not life threatening,
but there are some seriously ill [children]."
In his opinion,
there is no need to transfer these children to hospitals in other
regions of the country.
"There
are also children in hospital who are not wounded, but who are
in shock, and children with cuts and bruises," Dr Roshal
said before adding that psychologists are currently working with
the children.
Addresses
by Vladimir Putin in Connection With Events in North Ossetia
 |
A
Russian girl prays for those killed in Beslan during a service
at an Orthodox church in central Moscow, September 5, 2004.
Muscovites come to commemorate 333 people killed as a result
of the terrorists seizure of hostages in Russia’s southern
town of Beslan.
Photo
by Gleb Garanich / Reuters |
MOSCOW, September
4 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President delivered a televised address
in connection with the recent tragic events in the North Ossetian
city of Beslan.
"It’s
very hard and bitter to speak. A terrible tragedy occurred in
Russia. All these days every one of us deeply suffered and bore
in the hearts what was happening in the Russian city of Beslan,
where we saw not just killers, but those who used weapons against
the unprotected children.
And now, first
of all, I turn with the words of support and empathy to people,
who lost the most valuable in their lives – children and relatives.
I ask everyone
to remember always those, who were killed by terrorists in the
course of the last days.
As I’ve been
repeatedly saying we have encountered many crises, revolts and
terrorist attacks. However, the recent tragic events was an inhuman
and unprecedented in its cruelty crime of terrorists. It was not
a challenge against the President, Parliament or the government.
This was a challenge against Russia and our nation as a whole.
This was an attack against our country," the President noted.
"We are
not dealing here with separate actions of intimidation and terrorist
attacks. We are dealing with the direct intervention of international
terrorism into Russia.
What we see
is a total, cruel and full-scale war, which takes away lives of
our compatriots.
The world
experience shows that such wars are unfortunately lengthy. Under
such conditions we cannot continue to lead an incautious life
as before.
We must create
more effective security system and to demand from our law-enforcement
structures actions, which would be adequate to the level and scale
of the new threats.
The most important
thing is the mobilization of the nation in the face of the common
danger.
We are all
now experiencing together difficult and mournful hours. I want
to thank all, who displayed self-control and civil responsibility.
We will always
be stronger than they are – in our morals, courage and human solidarity.
I have once again seen it last night.
In Beslan
– the city which is now soaked with grief and pain, people were
taking care and supported each other.
They were
never afraid to risk their lives for the sake of lives and peace
of others.
Even under
the most inhuman conditions they remained humans.
It’s impossible
to put up with the pain of losses, but the tragedy brought us
closer to each other and made us reappraise many things.
We have to
be together today. This is the only way to defeat the enemy,"
Vladimir Putin said.
Bodies
of 237 Killed Extracted from Under School’s Debris
BESLAN,
September 4 (RIA Novosti) – According to the data available at
5:00 p.m. (Moscow time), bodies of 237 killed people including
144 children were extracted from under the school’s debris in
Beslan, the North Ossetian Health Ministry told RIA Novosti.
Currently
rescuers of the Emergencies Ministry continue their works. The
works will be soon over.
Russian Deputy
General Prosecutor for the Southern Federal District Sergei Fridinsky
spoke about the brutality of the terrorists, who captured the
school in Beslan.
"From
time to time the terrorists would take several hostages and shoot
them. In the course of two days they would position the hostages
against the wall and shoot them for even a small insubordination
to their plans," Mr. Fridinsky said on air of Rossia TV-channel.
"Thus,
in the course of two days the bandits shot and threw outside 20
hostages," he added.
In the early
hours of September 1 a group of terrorists captured a secondary
school number 1 in the North Ossetian town of Beslan. For more
than two days the bandits kept approximately 1,000 people as hostages.
According
to the preliminary information, as a result of the terrorist attack
322 people including 155 children were killed, some 700 were injured.
There is still no information about some 130 people.
General
Prosecutor’s Office: 322 People Including 155 Children Killed
in Beslan
 |
Bodies
of schoolchildren and hostages killed in a terrorists school
seizure seen in a hospital morgue in Beslan, North Ossetia,
Friday, Sept. 3, 2004. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion
than seeing children fleeing the school. Also reported that
mines set amongst the children to prevent attempts to escape.
Photo
by Musa Sadulayev / AP
Photo |
BESLAN (North
Ossetia), September 4 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Deputy General Prosecutor
Sergei Fridinsky confirmed the information that as a result of the
recent terrorist attack in Beslan 322 people including 155 children
were killed and over 700 people were injured.
"The
operative and investigative measures are underway. The number
of bodies may increase since we continue to clear the debris,
but we hope that the increase will be insufficient," Mr.
Fridinsky told journalists.
Head of the
operative headquarters, Head of the FSB department in North Ossetia
Valery Andreyev told journalists in his turn that part of the
weapons and explosives was brought to school in advance and was
hidden there.
"We are
thoroughly investigating this version as well as several other
versions. We have already identified the terrorists," Andreyev
said.
(A source
in the law enforcement structures told RIA Novosti that according
to some data the weapons were hidden under the floor in the gym
during the reconstruction work in school this summer.)
According
to Andreyev, in the course of the inspection of the tragedy scene
a considerable number of explosives and mines, destined to kill
the hostages, was found and disarmed by the law enforcement officers.
"The
number of explosives and the continuity of the battle between
the terrorists and special purpose troops proves that there can
be only one version – the terrorists prepared for the attack in
advance," the head of the operative headquarters disclosed.
The operation
to free the hostages and eliminate the terrorists is over, he
added.
Anxious
Relatives Gather in Beslan
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), 4 Sept – RIA Novosti. Relatives of former hostages
who have not found their loved ones in the local hospitals are
gathering at the House of Culture in Beslan.
About 500
people have assembled before the building and more are arriving.
Lists of the names of the identified bodies and patients in hospital
were supposed to have been put up at 12:00 Moscow time.
However, these
lists are still not ready and this is making those people who
do not know anything about the fate of their relatives anxious.
Spokesmen
for the emergency HQ have told RIA Novosti that, during meetings
with relatives, the authorities have been trying to put together
a list of people whose fate remains unknown. This should help
the identification procedure, as well as a more detailed search
of the local medical centres.
North Ossetia’s
chief prosecutor, Alexander Vigulov, has told relatives of the
victims and journalists that the final number of the people who
lost their lives in the school is still not known, as an investigation
of the site of the tragedy is continuing.
He added that
bomb disposal experts were defusing the explosive devices planted
by the terrorists and the surrounding topsoil was being removed
layer by layer.
Mr Vigulov
also announced that he had agreed with the head of the local administration
that buses would be laid on today to take relatives to the mortuary
at the hospital in Vladikavkaz so that they could identify the
bodies.
Minister
Lavrov: The Netherlands’ Demand Seems Blasphemous
CAIRO,
September 4 (RIA Novosti) – The statement of the Netherlands’
foreign minister, in which he demanded from Russia explanations
in connection with the tragic events in Beslan, seems blasphemous,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disclosed in Cairo.
"The
Russian government was grateful to all states and international
organizations, which expressed their condolences and offered support
in connection with the outrageous terrorist attack on the school
in Beslan. The EU expressed the same feelings," Mr. Lavrov
said.
"However,
we were astonished with the statement of Dutch Foreign Minister
Bernard Bot, who demanded from the Russian government explanations
in connection with the tragedy in Beslan," he said.
"The
tragic events in Beslan were broadcasted live all over the world
and the reports from the scene of the terrorist attack leave no
doubts that the massacre was initiated by terrorists, who couldn’t
sustain the strain any longer," Mr. Lavrov noted.
"In this
situation, when the Russian government stated that the top priority
was to save the lives of the hostages, especially children, Mr.
Bot’s statement seems blasphemous," the Russian foreign minister
stressed.
"I do
not want to suspect him of siding with such activists as Akhmed
Zakayev, who found a soft spot in London and disclosed today that
the Russian government was to blame for the tragedy in the North
Ossetia. The explanations must be demanded from the EU countries,
where such terrorists as Zakayev entrenched themselves,"
Mr. Lavrov said.
—
September 3, 2004 (Day 3) —
No
Storming of the School to Free Hostages Was Planned
 |
A
volunteer carries a small child after special forces stormed
a school seized by heavily armed masked men and women in
the town of Beslan in the province of North Ossetia near
Chechnya, September 3, 2004.
Stringer
/ Russia/ Reuters |
MOSCOW/BESLAN,
September 3 (RIA Novosti) – The operations staff did not plan the
use of force to free the hostages in Beslan, said Valery Andreyev,
head of the FSB department for North Ossetia. "We did not plan
the use of force; we planned to negotiate the hostages’ release,
and this is why presidential adviser Aslakhanov has come here,"
Andreyev said.
He
recalled that in the morning, the staff of the Emergencies Ministry,
acting by prior agreement with the terrorists, went to the school
to remove the bodies of the killed hostages. However, "two
powerful explosions shook the building, after which hostages started
running out of the school. The bandits opened fire at them,"
said the department head.
"To save
the hostages, we returned fire and local residents started shooting
at the bandits, too. Spetsnaz did everything possible to save
the hostages. It was thanks to their professionalism that many
hostages were saved," he stressed.
Gym’s
Roof in School Collapses
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), September 3 (RIA Novosti) – The roof of the school’s
structure accommodating the gym fully collapsed, RIA Novosti reports
from the scene of the tragedy.
Fire broke
out precisely at this place in the school. Now some smoke can
be seen over the building.
Actually all
windows in the school have been broken. Brick walls have been
damaged by bullets and fragments. The windows in the first floor
of the school’s main building facing the headquarters are barricaded
with furniture and boxes.
Rescuers are
preparing to clear the debris in the school’s burnt sports hall.
According to the interior personnel and rescuers staying on the
scene, there were, no doubt, victims during the combat.
Some automatic
fire bursts and sometimes explosions are still heard behind the
school’s building. To all appearances, special forces are continuing
to search for and chase the militants that have been able to escape
from the school.
Meanwhile,
according to an officer from the Central Rescue team, one rescuer
of the Ministry of Emergency Situations died and three others
were wounded.
Rescuers helped
bring the bodies of the hostages killed by militants out of the
school. During this operation, bandits opened fire.
School Tragedy: 556 Survivors in Hospital
BESLAN, NORTH OSSETIA, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – 556 rescued
school hostages are in hospitals by now-a majority with bullet
wounds, and some with bad burns and bruises, reports an operation
HQ spokesman
Another
50 School Hostages Rescued. Ranger Dies to Save Little Girls
MOSCOW,
September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Another fifty or more hostages have
been rescued from the Beslan school, Valeri Andreyev, North Osset
board chief of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a
Rossia national television live cast.
He made a
reverential mention of a ranger officer who saved two little girls
at the price of his own life.
More than
sixty terror victims have been identified for now. They are not
all, by far, warned Andreyev.
Presumably,
more than 150 hostages perished, Aslambek Aslakhanov, federal
presidential adviser, said earlier on the day.
Some
School Hostages Stay in Bandit Hands
BESLAN,
NORTH OSSETIA, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Not all school hostages
have been rescued for now, says Valeri Andreyev, North Osset board
chief of the Federal Security Service, or FSB. Twenty terrorists
died in the ranger school storm-half of them Arabs, he pointed
out to a media audience.
Presumably,
more than 150 hostages perished, says Aslambek Aslakhanov, federal
presidential adviser. As talks were on, the terrorists said they
were holding 1,200-but then, they could mention whatever figures
they liked, he remarked.
"A blast
came inside the school just when rescuers were removing victims’
bodies. Another several blasts closely followed in the heavily
mined premises. The kids ran for their life. The bandits were
shooting them in the back. They battered several children with
rifle butts. Federal rangers rushed to the rescue. That was how
the battle started. No one thought things would take that turn-we
were negotiating to sever the knot with no violence," said
Mr. Aslakhanov.
Rescuers have
now started to clean the debris inside the school, he added.
Bandits
Take Refuge in School Wing. Squall Skirmish On
BESLAN,
NORTH OSSETIA, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – A part of bandits are
holding a wing of the seized school. An intermittent squall skirmish
is on with the rangers who are storming the premises. Both sides
are using grenade throwers, our correspondent reports from the
site.
The doctors
have everything they need to attend to the wounded-bandages, medicines
and donor blood, says the republican Health Ministry.
A Polish TV
man hit in the arm goes on working. That is Victor Bater, national
television camera, says a spokesman of the Polish Embassy to Russia.
Transport
Corridor for Ambulances Being Arranged Near Beslan School
BESLAN,
SEPTEMBER 3 (RIA Novosti) – Rescuers, paramedics, policemen, troopers
are arranging a transport corridor for ambulances to get to the
school, take up the wounded and carry them to the hospital, the
RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the site.
Despite the
shootout still going on near the school, some hostages are being
evacuated from the building.
The RIA Novosti
correspondent has seen a wounded man and two small schoolchildren
being taken out on stretchers. A wounded commando was also seen
being evacuated from the school building.
200
People Wounded, Fight Near Beslan Adminstration
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), September 3 (RIA Novosti) – A battle is taking
place near the administration building of Beslan, said Speaker
of the North Ossetian parliament Taimuraz Mamsurov.
He urged Beslan
residents to mop up the town in groups, before dusk, in search
of the terrorists.
"You
should break into groups, take walkie-talkies and stop all the
strangers who do not live in this block. You should do this before
dusk," said Mamsurov.
The number
of those wounded in Beslan has increased to 200 people, the North
Ossetian Interior Ministry has told RIA Novosti.
Some of them
who are not in a critical condition are heading for Vladikavkaz
hospitals.
Doctors and
the police are trying to evacuate another group of hostages from
the fire exchange zone. There are injured people among them, who
should be transported on stretchers, the local Interior Ministry
reports.
The majority
of the wounded are led from the side adjoining the house of culture,
which is the most convenient way from the school.
As Tatiana
Chsheyeva, head of the secondary educational institutions department,
has told RIA Novosti on the phone the pupils of the school numbered
895 at the end of the previous school year, and teachers accounted
for 59. There are 36 classes in the school.
According
to Chsheyeva, the seized school is the largest of all the six
schools of Beslan.
The latest
blast in the school triggered fire. Rescuers and fire-fighters
cannot approach the building due to the ongoing shooting, the
North Ossetian Interior Ministry reports
Some
Hostages Still Inside the School, Evacuation Continues
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), September 3 (RIA Novosti) – According to the
North Ossetian Interior Ministry, some hostages have remained
inside the school. Their number is unknown. The evacuation efforts
are continuing.
Helicopters
are still flying over the area around the school in search of
the militants, the source said.
According
to the Interior Ministry, the terrorists are blocked by the commandos.
The militants are firing back with grenade throwers and submachine
guns.
Some hostages
have been killed.
"The
North Ossetian Interior Ministry has no precise information about
the death toll, because the bodies of the killed hostages are
in the fire exchange zone, and they cannot be taken out".
said the source.
Militants
Fire at People
BESLAN,
North Ossetia, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – A group of militants
who tried to escape from the school opened desultory fire at people,
while law enforcers are hindering this, reports a RIA Novosti
correspondent.
By witness
reports, the militants tried to escape to the city from the school.
They tried to hide in several directions, that’s why shooting
is underway in several districts adjacent to the school.
Those wounded
are taken away from the school in ambulances.
Combat
Underway Near Seized School
BESLAN,
North Ossetia, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Combat is underway
near the seized school in Beslan. Several helicopters are in the
air, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent.
A few cars,
including ambulances, have passed by the staff in an unknown direction.
Shooting from automatic weapons is heard near the school.
Power departments
opened return fire to save hostages who managed to break away
from the school, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent with reference
to a witness.
"People
started to run away from the school hall. Terrorists opened fire.
Power departments opened return fire to save those who escaped,"
said the witness.
Tens
of Children Break Away from Seized School
 |
School
children drink water after being rescued from terrorists
in Beslan, Northern Ossetia, Russia Friday, Sept. 3, 2004,
in this image taken from television. Many of the children
were partially clothed because of the stifling heat in the
school gym. Terrorists refused to accept water or food from
negotiators for the children and threatened to kill hostages.
A survivor of the attack said children were forced to drink
their own urine out of desperation. It’s unknown how many
youth succombed due to the terrible conditions.
APTN
/ AP Photo
|
MOSCOW, September
3 (RIA Novosti) – Tens of children have broken away from the seized
school. Television shows the evacuated children hugged by parents.
They are given water.
The
children are in underwear.
Those wounded
are taken away from the school in ambulances, reports a RIA Novosti
correspondent.
Terrorists
made an attempt to break away from the school to the city.
Special forces
lead combat with the terrorists who are trying to hide in a residential
neighborhood near the school, say witnesses.
All
Children in Seized School Are Alive
BESLAN,
North Ossetia, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – All children in the
seized school in Beslan are alive, Lev Dzugayev, the press secretary
of the North Ossetian president, told journalists. He said the
authorities have not received terrorists’ demands.
By the latest
information, evacuation of the bodies of those killed has started
near the school building in Beslan.
Earlier, Mr.
Dzugayev said that this was agreed upon with terrorists.
"We managed
to agree about evacuation of the bodies of those killed. We hope
during further contacts we will manage to resolve the issue about
provision of hostages with water, food and medicine," he
said.
Jordan
Condemns Terrorist Acts in Russia Aimed Against Innocent People
MOSCOW,
September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Jordan decisively condemns terrorist
acts in Russia aimed against innocent people, said Jordanian King
Abdallah II.
"Now
the time is very hard for us, it’s a time of challenge for all
those who despise terror," Abdallah II said addressing MGIMO
students.
"As a
father, I can say that our fathers and mothers are praying together
with your fathers and mothers. All our citizens sympathize with
your grief and support your determination," said the Jordanian
king.
"As for
the Islamic world, on its behalf I can say that extremists won’t
be able to make the real Islam fall silent. Our faith respects
tolerance and peace," said Abdallah II.
Relatives
and Acquaintances of Hostages Again Gather at Cultural Centre
in Beslan
BESLAN/North Ossetia, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – This is the
third day since the hostages were taken in the school of Beslan,
North Ossetia. RIA correspondent reports from the town that the
relatives and acquaintances of the victims and other residents
of Beslan are again gathering in and around the town’s cultural
centre.
The cordoned
zone around the school where the relatives and journalists are
not allowed has been increased. Before that, they could freely
move between the building of the town administration, where the
headquarters of the operation is located, and the cultural centre.
From now on, their movement there has been prohibited and the
metal railings have been moved away by approximately 100 metres,
to ensure greater safety of the people.
The decision
was made after several unprovoked shots from an under-barrel mine-launcher
and automatic weapons were made from the vicinity of the school
in the night of September 2/3. One explosion hit a site 50 metres
away from journalists, wounding a policeman.
—
September 2, 2004 (Day 2) —
Turkish
President Condemns Hostage-Taking in Beslan
MOSCOW,
September 2 (RIA Novosti) – In a telephone conversation with Vladimir
Putin, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer condemned the hostage
taking in the North Ossetian city of Beslan.
The Turkish
president stressed that Ankara, which is against any form of terrorism,
resolutely condemns this barbarous act and expresses the hope
for successful resolution of the crisis, the Kremlin press service
said. Mr.
Sezer expressed
full understanding of the Russian president’s decision to put
off his official Turkish visit, earlier planned for September
2 to 3, to a later date and expressed sincere compassion and solidarity
with the Russian president, and the people of Russia in connection
with the tragic situation in North Ossetia.
Mr. Putin
thanked Mr. Sezer for his support and solidarity.
No
Food, Water and Medicines for School Hostages: Dr. Roshal
MOSCOW,
September 2 (RIA Novosti) – School terrorists would not agree
to allow food, water and medicines passed to their hostages in
Beslan, North Ossetia, says Leonid Roshal, renowned children’s
doctor, who is on the drama site.
"I am
in uninterrupted talks with one Shoikhu-I am not sure I’ve got
the name right. The man has introduced himself as [terrorist]
press attache. They would not give food, water or medicines to
the kids and adults in the school. The man says he is a highlander.
I told him highlanders never behaved that way," Dr. Roshal
said in a Rossia national television channel live cast.
"The
release of an initial 26 hostages is certainly a victory-but it’s
a mere drop in the ocean. The very fact of someone set free is
a big achievement, but a huge job is ahead yet."
Dr. Roshal
is indignant at the International Red Cross inactivity. "I
am wary with the Red Cross’ stance. To be honest, I am indignant.
It is their duty to be here and arrange talks, and food and medicine
supplies. I am baffled to see no International Red Cross officers
here."
The famous
physician says the terrorists have not yet made any explicit demands.
He calls on Ossetians, Chechens and the Ingush to display wisdom.
"If the
matter has a tragic outcome, it will mean war-a warfare in this
explosive area. We must prevent war between fraternal peoples
at all cost. I am appealing to the wisdom of the Ossetian, Ingush
and Chechen peoples to ward off the looming war danger. A war
will take thousands of lives, and we must see it," said the
doctor.
Terrorists
themselves summoned him from Moscow as negotiator.
Dr. Roshal
covered himself with glory in fall 2002, when terrorists seized
a Moscow theater in Dubrovka Street during performance to take
hostage a house and company of 800.
Hostage
Takers Release Three Women with Babies
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), September 2 (RIA Novosti) – Militants who took
hostages in Beslan have released three women with babies, Lev
Dzugayev, the chief of the information and analysis department
under the North Ossetian president, told the hostages’ relatives
and journalists.
"We regard
it as a first success," Mr. Dzugayev said, expressing the
hope that this success can be "secured."
The department
chief called on the media to display reserve while covering the
situation in Beslan. He refuted reports about a fire that allegedly
occurred near the school.
An official
spokesman for the operational staff confirmed the news about the
release of women to journalists.
Seven
Casualties in Terrorist Attack in Beslan, 354 Held Hostage
BESLAN
(North Ossetia), September 2, (RIA Novosti) – Seven people have
become casualties of a terrorist attack in Beslan, while 354 are
being held hostage, according to the latest information of the
emergency headquarters, Lev Dzugayev, head of the news and analysis
department of the president of North Ossetia, told journalists.
He added that
there are no children among the dead.
"Throughout
the night we were collating lists of people taken hostage. We
prepared water and food, but it is yet impossible to pass it on,"
Dzugayev said. He said the headquarters has information that the
children are in a satisfactory condition.
Dzugayev repeated
that although contact with the militants exists, it is only one-way,
and it is too difficult to say for the time being what precise
demands they are making. "Nor can we as yet say who these
people are and who stands behind them," he added.
Dzugayev reported
that the doctor Leonid Roshal, who is in Beslan, is as yet unsuccessfully
trying to establish contact with the gunmen.
According
to North Ossetia’s Interior Ministry, 15 schoolchildren managed
to escape from the captured school during Wednesday, Kazbek Dzantiyev,
the North Ossetian Interior Minister, said during a meeting with
relatives of the hostages.
"Immediately
after the seizure, 12 schoolchildren succeeded in hiding themselves
in a boiler room, from which they were moved out. Then, in the
course of the day, three more were able to escape. No one else
could be released," he said.
All the night
through the hot telephone line at the emergency headquarters to
free hostages in North Ossetia was receiving calls from people
concerned for the children and their parents.
"Calls
came from all over Russia, beginning with Moscow and ending with
Magadan. There were callers from St Petersburg, Komi, Karelia,
and Obninsk. Rings were made from Armenia, Azerbaijan and even
New York," a hot line operator told RIA Novosti.
He said calls
are made not only by relatives, but also by non-relatives, and
they make up about 30 per cent of all those who ring up.
"There
are people offering themselves as hostages instead of the children.
They express their sympathy, and suggest their methods of resolving
problems, although most of the calls are, of course, from relatives,"
the RIA Novosti source said.
Quite a number
of calls come, according to him, from believers. "They are
praying and wish for a successful outcome."
The telephone
number of the round-the-clock hot line is 8-867-37-31-554.
The situation
in the area of the school seized by militants in Beslan remains
relatively calm, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent from the
scene of action.
Outside the
cultural centre and the town administration building, where the
emergency headquarters is situated, there still stand relatives
and parents of the schoolchildren taken hostage.
From the side
of the school there came several single shots/ According to police
officials, these shots fired by militants are of a warning nature,
as it was throughout the previous day.
At the same
time the UN Security Council has demanded an immediate and unconditional
release of all hostages captured in the course of a terrorist
attack in Beslan.
The UN Security
Council, in a statement adopted at an emergency meeting on Wednesday,
described the bandits’ action as a disgusting act of terror.
The Security
Council strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Moscow and
on two Russian passenger jets, which have resulted in numerous
fatal human casualties and injured.
The Security
Council expresses its deepest sympathy with and condolences to
the people and government of the Russian Federation, and also
to victims of these terrorist attacks and their relatives, the
statement says.
The Security
Council urged all states, in accordance with their obligations
assumed in fulfilment of resolution 1373 of 2001, to actively
cooperate with Russian authorities in their efforts to identify
and bring to justice the doers, organisers and providers of finance
for these terrorist attacks.
"Absolutely
all Security Council members unanimously expressed their most
heartfelt and sincere sympathy with our people and support for
the Russian government’s efforts on the counter-terrorist track,"
Andrei Denisov, Russia’s UN permanent representative, said at
the conclusion of the meeting. "The Security Council has
demonstrated its principled, consistent and deep-thought will
to counter terrorism."
Josep Borrel,
new president of the European parliament, strongly condemned the
hostage-taking in North Ossetia.
No demands,
be they political or religious, can justify this base act, Borrel
says in a statement obtained by RIA Novosti.
These odious
terrorists bring death to and blackmail people who happen to cross
their way, the statement stresses.
The head of
the European parliament expressed solidarity with the families
of the Russians taken hostage by the terrorists.
Borrel also
condemned the terrorist attack in Moscow and expressed condolences
to the near and dear ones of those killed.
—
September 1, 2004 (Day 1) —
Do
Not Succumb to Fear and Hatred, Patriarch Alexis Calls Russia
after Terror Acts
MOSCOW,
September 1 (RIA Novosti’s Olga Lipich) – "Don’t succumb
to fear and hatred in the face of terrorism!" His Beatitude
Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, calls his flock
in a public statement as he expresses condolence to the bereaved
in last night’s Moscow blast, and compassion with the injured
and their near and dear.
"Terrorists
have declared war on all who live in Russia. Coming under the
blow now is Moscow, whose diocesan see I have the honour to hold,"
the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church says in a telegram
he forwarded to Mayor Yuri Luzhkov today. The Moscow Patriarchate
Department of External Church Relations has offered the message
to the public.
"I appeal
to Muscovites to be on their guard, not succumb to panic, and
not allow hatred to take root in their heart. We are to be at
one in our resolution to repulse militant evil. Take courage!
This city used to go through heinous times but always honourably
emerged from trials and tribulations. Terrorism may seem an ineradicable
evil, yet I firmly believe we shall vanquish it," says the
Patriarch.
"May
the Lord heal the injured! I am praying for the innocent who perished
in the act. May their souls have eternal rest in Heaven!
"I am
specially grateful to those who are now helping the injured and
their families," says His Beatitude.
Terrorists
seized a secondary school in Beslan, North Ossetia, today, to
take pupils hostage. As soon as he received the blood-curdling
news, Theophanes Bishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz appealed
to the bandits to release the children. "God’s innocent creatures
were under sacred protection of all peoples in all times,"
he said in a statement forwarded to President Alexander Dzasokhov
of North Ossetia/Alania, reports the diocesan press service.
"May
my call reach those who have captured the innocents! I appeal
to them in the name of the Lord: set the children free! Harm not
their tender hearts and budding souls! No goal canjustify what
you are doing. Reason will take the upper hand, is my firm belief,"
says the bishop.
Bishop Theophanes
expresses heartfelt compassion for his Christian flock in North
Ossetia. "I am at one with you in your plight, my kind and
pious Osset people. I pray to God for the drama to come to a happy
ending," he says.
North
Ossetia: Terrorists Seize School-Arabs Behind Curtain?
BESLAN,
NORTH OSSETIA, September 1 (RIA Novosti) -Terrorists seized a
secondary school in Beslan, North Ossetia-Russia’s North Caucasian
autonomy, on the academic year’s start. Eleven injured survivors
have been taken to the district hospital. The hospital is circulating
a list of seven dead and four wounded.
Aslambek Aslakhanov,
advisor to federal President Vladimir Putin, is not sure about
the number, ethnicity and nationality of the terrorists. They
cling to previous demands-to stop Chechen warfare and release
captured militants who were taking part in a violent attack on
Ingush police premises, June 21, he said to the media.
Mr. Aslakhanov
discerns one and the same Arab terrorist organisation behind the
latest terror acts in Russia-last night’s Moscow blast and today’s
tragedy in Beslan. "All countries on the anti-terror coalition
are to join hands, and act tough on that organisation all together,"
he said.
The presidential
advisor will fly to North Ossetia quite soon.
When asked
whether there was a chance for the school terrorists to release
the seized children, he replied: "That’s what I am praying
the Almighty about! The beasts are down on kids now! Is there
anything human left in them?"
"As we
are making war on terrorists, we clearly realise it is international
terrorism we are dealing with, wherever it may base-in Ingushetia,
Ossetia or Chechnya. We are fighting them, and we shall try to
kill them off as we have been doing," Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya’s
First Deputy Prime Minister, said to national television Channel
One. His father, Chechen President, died in a terror act last
spring.
The Beslan
school seizure proves that "the terrorists are inhuman. They
have no sublime idea-nothing at all they would hold sacred. September
1 is a jubilant festive day. They made it tragic for the kids
and for us all. There is no more chance to have talks with them,"
he said in grim resolution.
The Coordination
Centre of North Caucasian Muslims is circulating a public statement
to "express indignation and denounce the terror act in which
innocents were taken hostage. The terrorists have captured kids
and babies to show their true self, with its appalling cynicism.
They have been driven into a deadlock, and are now unblushingly
making headlong demands to demonstrate-to their masters and benefactors,
above all-that they are still to reckon with. These devils must
be ousted from our land and community."
The phenomenon
of Shahidism is sacred to every Muslim, and what terrorists are
now doing clashes with the Muslim canon, points out the statement
as it expresses condolence with the bereaved and compassion with
the injured