The taking of hostages of Beslan (also massacre of Beslan) was an act of terrorism of Chechnian fighters, who brought the passengers of a school between 1 September and 3 to September 2004 in Beslan in the Russian Nordossetien into their force.

Process

On 1 September 2004 a group of approx. 30 heavily armed persons stormed around 9:30 clock local time the middle school No. 1, where pupils at the age were informed by seven to eighteen years. According to unconfirmed reports were at this time to 1,500 humans in the building. 1 September is in completely Russia Schulbeginn, on which the first graders are solemnly welcomed into presence of parents and future schoolmate. Often whole families come, in order to attend the ceremony.

The aggressors were masked and heavily armed, some were with explosive belts for suicide assassination attempts equipped, among them also Mrs. (so-called Smertnizi - black widows). After a shooting with the police the aggressors occupied school building and took hundreds hostages, under it many children. At least five humans are to have come with the first attack around the life and from that school building penetrated repeat shots.

The aggressors closed the hostages into the gymnasium and mined all entrances. In order to prevent a conquest of the building, they threatened with the killing of fifty hostages for each kidnapper killed by the police, as well as of twenty hostages for each hurt. The escape succeeded to about fifty humans in the free in the initial disorder.

The school became from Russian police, army and OMON special-purpose forces changes over. The Russian government announced first to do for the protection of the hostages without force and negotiate with the Geiselnehmern.

The Geiselnehmer rejected the supply of food and water, although among the hostages also infants were. The thirst of the prisoners and the heat were so strong that drank this partial their urine and undressed up to the underwear. The head master, who suffered from diabetes, died, because insulin was refused to it.

Upon the request of Russia September a special meeting of the UN security council took place in the evening 1, which demanded the immediate and absolute release of all hostages of the terror over case; US president George W. Bush offered Russia to "support in each possible form".

To be seen on Thursday, 2 September 15:30 clock local time - thirty hours after the assault - was two heavy explosions in the school sphere to be heard and dark smoke. The cause of the explosion was first unclear, according to data of a correspondent of the Russian Fernsehstation NTW sounded it however like a garnet thrower, that had possibly been fired from the school on the blocking troops. 26 hostages, some mothers with their children, were released.

On Friday 3 September agreed the Geiselnehmer and the Russian units on the evacuation of corpses. During the evacuation it came in unsettled way to a strong explosion, and as a group of hostages the escape from the building seized, began the terrorists at it to shoot. The situation became difficult-to-understand and it came by approximately 12:30 clock local time at to fire fights for hours, in whose process Russian ALFA units stormed school building. Only after several hours they could bring it completely under their control. As admits later became, were not itself the special units united, who should hold the highest command authority with the spontaneous conquest. In the process of the fights a cover collapsed at school, which cost many humans the life. According to official data the cover of the terrorists was blown up, according to other data the collapse was caused by inadequate employment of military means by the Russian special forces. While the obviously unmethodical conquest became according to official data 704 humans hurt, among them more than 200 children. Altogether there were 331 dead ones. However in the corpse looking house of Wladikawkas however 394 dead ones were counted. 27 Geiselnehmer were killed, a Geiselnehmer (only pasha Kulaev) was arrested. He was condemned in May 2006 to life imprisonment. After eye-witness reports several Geiselnehmern the escape is to be successful.

The Geiselnehmer were obviously well trained and equipped and had possibly aids outside of the school. They had put on already extensive weapon camps under the halls of some class rooms as building workers camouflaged during the school renovation taken place before. Observers refer here also to corruption with local office-holders, without whom such an action would be hardly feasible altogether.

Identity of the aggressors

The identity of the aggressors was unclear, but one assumed that however generally that it concerns terrorists out of that close convenient Chechnya, probably from the group of Rijadus Salichin of the being lord Schamil Bassajew. Official data, according to which among the authors several terrorists from Arab countries were, contradicted the hostages, so that this statement had to be taken back again. An alleged black one turned out as with soot smeared Chechen. The Chechen Nurpaschi Kulajew is probably the only Geiselnehmer, who survived the conquest. It was in the chaos of the release action by several police shut-off positions escapes, before it was placed by Passanten. He was guiltily spoken in May 2006.

The procedure of the Geiselnehmer resembles remarkable the taking of hostages in the Muscovite Dubrowka theatre from October 2002, when militant Chechens took 700 hostages. The action took place one week after the notice of terror of Chechens on an subway railway station in Moscow with 10 victims and the breakup of two passenger airlines through suicide assassin inside with 89 dead ones. The Russian government attributed the notices not finally to Chechnian war gentleman, but language of international terrorism.

The following demands are to have placed to Beslan Geiselnehmern:

• Release of caught Chechnian terrorists from the inguschetischen prisons
• Retreat of the Russian troops from Chechnya
• PUT in resignation

Information politics of the authorities

During the taking of hostages the authorities launched a substantial disinformation campaign. While Lokalsender spoke of 1200 hostages, speaks the nordossetischen president and the secret service a FSB called first the number of 130 and later of 354 victims. These numbers were spread, although to the Ministries the number of school beginners admits naturally was. Only after on 2 September a released woman spoke publicly of "about 1000 hostages", became this high number admitted, and it admitted Nordossetiens president Alexander Dschasochow that wrong numbers had been called. Still hours after the conquest concealed the Russian Fernsehstationen that thereby humans had died.

Which concerns the number of the terrorists, there are different views. The authorities go from 30 authors out this number agree with the number of killed and/or taken prisoner terrorists in approximately. Critics object that at least 50 terrorists are necessary, in order to hold many hostages in such a manner in chess. This would mean that the escape succeeded to about 20 terrorists by the check ring of the special forces, what is possible only if the terrorists had support in the troops of the ministry of the Interior.

Critics of the catastrophic employment of the special units of the ministry of the Interior were made mouth dead. The few television and newspaper editors, which reported critically, turned out under the solid pressure of the government, then became Raf Schakirow, which dismisses editor-in-chief of the renowned daily paper Iswestija when desired a large shareholder of the newspaper. This press censorship possibly pursued the purpose not to let the heated up tendency escalate still further.

Also the statement of authorities taken back later was criticized, among the terrorists would be at least ten Arabs. Was accused to the Russian government to want to manufacture thereby connections of the Chechens to the international terror network El Qaida. The arrested Geiselnehmer only pasha Kulaev said on the television that the notice decreases/goes back on the Chechnian former president Aslan Alijewitsch Mashadow as well as the Chechnian being lord Schamil Bassajew, on whose head a reward of 10 million dollar is suspended. Aslan Maschadow disclaimed a participation, Schamil Bassajew however professed themselves to this act of terrorism and threatens with further notices. This affirmed it in an interview by a team of the American television station CBS in July 2005. It professes itself full to its responsibility, however from Russia to these acts was floated. To radiant emittance of the interview it came to diplomatic entangling between the USA and Russia, when first this the establishment of contact of a journalist with a terrorist not as of Russia condemned demanded. The USA strove for damage delimitation, did not condemn the transmitter CBS however not, since this would have contradicted with their of democratic rights. A tacit support of the proceeding of the journalists is assumed beyond that.

In response partly the reproach is made for the foreign - above all Western European - reporting, it arranged latently the impression, Putin and its Chechnya politics deceives a partial responsibility at the massacre and justified thus the acts of the terrorists.

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