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Hostage-takers demand Russian withdrawl from Chechnya
The attackers who raided a school in Russia's North Ossetia autonomous republic are now demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the republic of Chechnya, where small groups of rebels are still fighting for independence, ITAR-TASS reported Wednesday. They are also demanding the release of terrorists who were arrested in the republic of Ingushetia in June following a terrorist attack on police stations there, and that the President of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov and a well-known Moscow-based pediatrician Leonid Roshal arrive at the school building for talks. Roshal represented the government as a negotiator during the siege of a Moscow theater in 2002Earlier in the morning armed and masked attackers took up to 400 people hostage, including 200 children. The attack happened on the first day of the Russian school year when many parents escort their children to school. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cut short his holiday and returned to Moscow from the Black Sea resort of Sochi due to the hostage crisis. He held a meeting with Russia's top law enforcement officials at the Vnukovo airport in Moscow a few minutes after his arrival. Putin looked alarmed and disturbed when shown on Russian television meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, the director of the Federal Security Service. Putin did not make any statements to the media. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-09-01 |
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