Hundreds Held Hostage At School in Russia
Many Children Seized in Town Near CHECHNYA
By Peter Baker and Susan B. Glasser
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, September 2, 2004; Page A01
BESLAN, Russia, Sept. 2 - Heavily armed guerrillas, some of them wearing explosive belts, stormed into a school in southern Russia near the separatist region of Chechnya on Wednesday morning and took several hundred students, teachers and parents hostage after a deadly shootout .
Striking RightAfter opening-day ceremonies for the
New Academic Year, The Attackers Threatened to Blow Up The School If The Russian Government Attempted to Retake It And Said They Would EXECUTE 50 Hostages for Every ONE Their Own Killed.
As many as seven adults died in an initial shootout at School No. 1 in the North Ossetian town of Beslan, just west of the Chechen border, authorities said. Gunfire and explosions rang out in the area throughout the day and into the night, after Russian Troops Surrounded The School.
The Raid Came As Russians Were Still
Absorbing the
carnage of three other bombings elsewhere in the country during the past week -. the downing of two airliners and a suicide attack in Moscow that together killed about 100 people Russian authorities have blamed Chechen
Separatists for those attacks.
Nearly 24 Hours InTo the
Siege in Beslan, Anxious Parents Continued to Hold
Vigil at the local house of culture. The Auditorium there is a study in a state of groef, with deadund,
Drawn Faces of Women WHO HAD CRIED THEMSELVES OUT AND MEN
Bristling with barely
SUPPRESSED ANGER. Some Families Had Four OR Five Children At the School;
AN 11-MONTH-OLD WAS Also on The List Circulating Among The Parents. AS Many As 885 Children Are Registered At The School, Which Comprises Grades 1 THROUGH 11.JUSES GRADES 1 THROUGH 11.JUSES
Seizure Broke, President VLADIMIR PUTIN SAID CHECHEN TERRORSTS Linked to Al Qaeda Were Responsible for the Recent Outbreak of Violence and
Vowed Not to Negotiate With Them. "WE Shall Fight Against Them, Throw Theme Flying Back to Moscow from Vacation on the Black Sea for the second time in a week.
"WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED ON US," Added Putin's Defense Minister, Sergei Ivanov, "Wherei Ivanov," Wherei Ivanov, "Wherei Ivanov," Where The Enemy IS Unseen and There is no front. "
AT Russia's Request, The U.N. Security Council Called An Emergency Meeting Wednesday in New York to Discuss The Latest
SPASM of Chechen-Related Terrorism. at The Meeting,
the council condemned "in the strongest terms" the attack on the school and demanded "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages." President Bush phoned Putin to offer support and told him the United States was fighting "side by side" with Russia in The War On Terror, Bush Spokesman Scott McClellan Told Reporters.
By Nightfall, The Town of Beslan, with a population of 30,000, had settled Into A
tense standoff, with the school surrounded by hundreds of Russian troops, armored vehicles and parents desperate for information about their children trapped inside. But there was no encouraging news for them, just a police officer who told the
Frant Relatives VIA
Bullhorn About The Hostage Takers' Demands.
"The only thing they said Was That They Would Kill 50 Hostages for Each ONE OF THEM KILED, 20 for Each Wounded. If The
STORMING BEGINS, The Whole School Would Be Blown Up. That's All We can say for the moment, "The Offector Said On The Bullhorn in A Scene Later Broadcast On Television Across Russia.
The attack began about 9 am when a large group of guerrillas rolled up in a military-style truck and charged into the school as the opening-day ceremony was ending in the gym. At least two of the attackers were women wearing explosive belts. Some Local Police Immediely RESITED The Intruders, Exchanging Fire with them.
. Taimuraz Pukhayev, who lives across from the school, saw the attack start His wife had just taken his three children - ages 7, 11, and 12 - to class when he heard shooting He ran outside and saw about half a dozen.
camouflage-clad guerrillas and two women rushing toward the building. "I saw them breaking the doors, the windows. I heard children screaming," he said. Then a guerrilla with an automatic rifle started shooting at him. "They shot at me, THEY NOTICED [A neighbor] and shot at him. I SAW HIM BLEDING from the head. "The neighbor later died.
Some Children Ran To Safety in The Initial Confusion. "I Thought It Was A Joke, But They Began To Shoot in The Air and WE RAN," Said One Breathless Boy Shown On Russia's NTV Television Network.
For Elza Baskayeva, editor of the local newspaper, a fearful wait began when she heard shooting and called her 27-year-old daughter, who was at the school taking pictures for the paper. "She was crying, 'They are shooting! They are shooting! We are on the second floor. 'and then I lost the connection, "Baskayeva said in a telephone interview. Baskayeva went to her office a few hundred yards away and learned that two other employees and their children had also been taken hostage . Soldiers surrounded the school within an hour, she said.
BY
.
At The House of Culture, "The Parents WERE VERY MAD......
Militia Is Not Protecting US All, "She SAID.
"No one gives us real information, that's the most terrible thing," said Madina Gulyarova, 39, who had a 10-year-old nephew in the school. "We see on TV that the whole world supports us. But nobody from our Authorities Will Speak to US. "
Svetlana Kaitova barely held back tears as she talked about her 22-year-old daughter, who had started her teaching job that morning. "When I woke up this morning, I was such a happy mother. I gave education to my children, they WERE All Working, And now Look What's Happend, "She Said.
Lev Dzugaev, spokesman for the emergency headquarters, said authorities had managed to establish phone contact with the hostage takers only Wednesday evening. "We hope we will be able to conduct negotiations and we will learn what they really want," he said by telephone from Beslan. At least initially, he said, they did not make specific demands.But Putin's top aide for Chechnya, Aslanbek Aslakhanov, told Russian reporters that they demanded an immediate Russian withdrawal from Chechnya and the release of guerrillas captured during a raid this summer in the neighboring region of Ingushetia. He said they asked to negotiate directly with the presidents of Ingushetia and North Ossetia, as well as a children's physician, Leonid Roshal, who acted as a mediator during the 2002 siege of a Moscow theater by Chechen rebels.
.
Early Thursday morning, as a heavy mist settled around the school, Lt. Gen. Kazbek Dzantiyev was confronted by angry parents he tried to placate by saying, "We're not going to hide anything from you." The head of the local interior ministry, Dzantiyev said there were 400 children and an unknown number of adults taken hostage by as many as 40 terrorists. A local police officer was under investigation, he said, for helping the hostage takers, who included Chechens, Russians, Ingush and Ossetians.
But official figures varied for how many people had been taken hostage; Dzugaev said it was 354, of whom approximately half were children He said four to seven civilians were confirmed dead in the initial seizure Russian news agencies said as many as 11 died... Officials said the hostage takers................
To Many Russians, The Day's Events Were a Shocking Echo of Similar Seizures by Chechen Rebels That Resulted In mass Civilian Casualties.
In 1995, during the first post-Soviet war in Chechnya, more than 100 civilians died as rebels seized a hospital in the town of Budennovsk. After five days, President Boris Yeltsin allowed the guerrillas to leave in exchange for freeing their captives.
Two Years Ago, Putin Took a Different
Took When Chechen Rebels Took over a musical "nord-ost." After A 57-Hour Standoff, Putin Ordered theateater stormed, and 129 Hostages Died as a result of there
Knockout gas used by authorities.
"Unfortunately, there are only two scenarios in Russia," said Aleksandr Golts, a military expert "The first is Budennovsk:... Give permission to the terrorists to go where they want and accept this shame That's how Yeltsin behaved The other variant is 'Nord-Ost' - Poison Gas, Storm and Everything. That's How Putin BEHAVES. "
Glasser reported from Moscow.
Absorbing [ab · sorb ||? b's ?? b] adj. An Absorbing Novel is a very attractive novel
Carnage [car · nage || 'kɑ? n? d?] n.massive slaughter, as in war; a massacre. Massacre large-scale killing, such as the massacre in the war; slaughter Corpses, especially of those killed in battle. The body is especially the body of the killer in the war.
Vigil [VIG IL || 'V? D ?? L] Na Watch Kept During Normal Sleeping Hours. The night in the normal sleep time monitoring Drawn Adj.haggard, as from fatigue or illhalth: 憔, If the fatigue or body is not good: a wan, drawn face. A pale and awkward face
Bristle [Bris · TLE || 'Br? SL] n. Just Mao, Piggy Vi. (Hair, etc.) erected, angry
Seizure (SEIZ [E] seized; capture up noun suffix [SEI · ZURE || 'S ???? (r)] n possess; strong (disease)
Spasm ['Spæzm] NA Sudden, Involuntary Contraction of a Muscle Group of Muscles. Suddenly Or sudden burst of feelings
Frant [Fran · Tic || 'frænt? k] adj.highly Excited WITH STRONG Emotion or frustration; frenzy because of a strong emotional or huge setback and high excitement: frantic with worry. Anxious
STORMING
N.
Act of forcefully assaulting, act of attacking with sudden forceclad
[klæd]
VA Past Tense and a Past Participle of Clothe Clothe's past formation and past word cladadj wearing; covered Warmly Clad Warm A Motorcyclist Clad in Leather A Motorcycle Hands Wearing Piece Thane Sides Were The small woods on the hill slope are covered in a mist. Camouflage
[Cam · Ou · FLAGE || 'Kæm? FLɑ ??]
N.THE Method Or Result of Concealing Personnel or Equipment from an enemy by Making The Appear To Be Part of The Natural Surroundings. Camouflage, covering people or facilities look like a part of the natural environment to hide the way they are not subject to enemies Or Results Fabric or A Garment Dyed in Splotches of Green, Brown, Tan, And Black So As To Make The Wearer IndiStinguishable from The Surrounding Environment. Camouflage Dedication Dies with green, brown, brown and black streaks, thus Making wearer is not easy to be distinguished from the surrounding environment MidAfternoon
adj.
Occurring Between Noon and EVENING, TAKING Place Between ApproxImately 2 and 4 O'Clock
MID AFTERNOON
N. Militia in the afternoon
[Mi · Li · TIA || M? 'L ???]
N. Spbr: Mil.an ARMY Composed of Ordinary Citizens Rather Than Professional Soldiers. Military organizations made up by ordinary citizens rather than a Military FORCE THAT I NOT OF A Regular And That Subject To Call for Service In An Emergency The reserve force is not part of the regular army, and it is prepared to serve the armed forces to serve in an emergency. Tack [Tæk]
n flat nails, big nails a carpet TACK carpet Hammered a TACK INTO The Wall and hung a small picture from it. Nail on the wall on the wall, hang a small painting on it. Grab the wind, zigzag sailing We Sailed on an entaster tack. We rushed to the east. Get Through a Dense Crowd in a Series of Tacks. East bending through the intensive crowd. Sailing, rough sew put a few tacks in roughly sewing a few needles; strategies Since the government Tried the new tack of forward the gion. Since the persuasion of the union failed, The government tried to use a new strategy to force them to agree. TackVT, VI (often used with Down) with a big head nail I tacked the carpet down; She tacked the massial together. I nailed the carpet, she sewed something. Drive the wind, make a zigzag sailing the boat tacked INTO HARBOR. The boat as a zh shape into the port. (With TO, ON, ON TO) Addition, add, supplement she tacked a ribbon on to her hat. She adds a jet with a hat. Seeds, rough Sewing To Use a Tacking Stitch with a coarse needle knockoutadj. Fight, knocking down, sensationalizing a coma's a knockout bulk makes people fainted, overwhelming
