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Beslan residents plan (ethnic) revenge
Geez, I've almost forgotten how to post these things.On September 5, two days after the Beslan school hostage crisis descended into carnage, a young man with bloodshot eyes knelt beside the coffin of one of the victims, 35-yearold Timur Tsallagov, as it was lowered into the ground. Throwing dirt onto the coffin, the man made a vow: "I promise I will have my revenge on those who killed you." He was not alone. In the days after the massacre — in which more than 330 people, including scores of children, died — talk of vengeance was everywhere on the streets of Beslan, Russia. Many men were already cleaning their guns and promising that at the end of the traditional 40-day mourning period, those responsible would pay. Whoops -- that's today. So as residents of Beslan yesterday marked the last day of official mourning by lighting candles and saying prayers inside the gutted gymnasium that was the center of the tragedy, fear was mounting of the possibility of revenge killings. Russian press outlets reported that residents of North Ossetia were coming together in informal groups to plan revenge attacks against the rival Ingush ethnic group. Many Ossetians blame the Ingush, a predominantly Muslim group closely related to the Chechens, for the attack on the school. At least nine Ingush were among the hostage-takers. The Ossetians, an overwhelmingly Christian group with strong historical ties to Russia, fought a 10-day war with the Ingush in 1992 over land rights along the border. Hundreds died in the fighting and the region remains awash in weapons. Almost every family has at least one gun in its home; in some cases, families are armed with machine guns and explosives. Sounds like a good idea in that area. But more trouble seems imminent... RTWT. Posted by: someone 2004-10-13 |
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