The
first day of September is traditionally a day of celebration
for the people of Russia – the day children start the
new school year. But on 1st September 2004, the town of Beslan,
in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, was unwillingly
thrust into the international spotlight.
Around 9.30 am a group of masked men and women wearing bomb
belts, demanding the release of imprisoned Chechen fighters
and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, burst into
a school and took hundreds of children, teachers and parents
hostage. Twelve people were killed in the first hours of the
siege, which has now entered its third day.
An estimated 400 schoolchildren aged from seven to 17, plus
teachers and family members, have been blocked into the school
gym with mines and trip wires installed around.
The armed group have been refusing to accept any food, water
or assistance for the hostages. On Thursday, 26 women and young
children were freed from the school, but negotiations have so
far failed to bring a peaceful end to the crisis.
Hundreds of relatives of those being held inside the school
are waiting anxiously outside the security cordon.
"The situation is tense and unpredictable. We have mobilised
Red Cross personnel, and informed the media and the government
about our contingency planning," said Erik Prazdnikov,
Russian Red Cross (RRC) Secretary General.
Prazdnikov, who had been receiving regular telephone updates
from colleagues in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, has
left for Beslan on an emergency flight with the Russian government.
On 2nd September, a Russian Red Cross plea requesting an immediate
and peaceful end to the siege was delivered directly to the
hostage takers. The RRC also offered its services as a neutral
and independent organisation to participate in the delivery
of food and other necessary items to the hostages.
Shortly after the school was seized, the RRC set up an operational
group to coordinate the activities of the national headquarters
in Moscow, and the local branches in Vladikavkaz and in Beslan.
"The Red Cross branch in Beslan, headed by the chief doctor
of the central district hospital, Mr V. Karpenko, is directly
involved in providing assistance," said Raisa Lukutsova,
RRC vice president and head of the operational group.
Twenty-five 25 Red Cross psychologists, 60 nurses and medical
doctors and volunteers from neighbouring regions were put on
stand-by to fly immediately to Beslan and provide assistance
to the hostages and their families.
A 24-hour phone line has also been established to give and receive
information about the crisis situation.
Two large surgical kits, bandage materials and medicines have
been transferred to the Beslan Central hospital from the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warehouse in the North Caucasus,
while the Russian Red Cross has asked the population to donate
blood at State blood donor points to assist victims of the current
hostage crisis, as well as yesterday's explosion outside a metro
station in Moscow, which killed 10 people.
The Russian Red Cross and ICRC Moscow Office are ready to offer
more bandages, medicines and surgical instruments and general
assistance if necessary.
"The Russian Red Cross was quick in its response to the
disaster in Ossetia," said Per Jensnaes, Head of the International
Federation’s delegation in Russia. "These efforts
are needed now and will be in big demand regardless of the outcome
of the tragic event.”
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A
Russian police officer carries a released baby from the
school seized by armed hostage-takers in the town of Beslan.
(REUTERS/Viktor Korotayev/courtesy AlertNet)
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Near
the school in Beslan, relatives of the hostages wait anxiously
for news. The Russian Red Cross is offering them comfort
and support (REUTERS/Vadim Tokhsyrov/ courtesy AlertNet)
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