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Russian
Red Cross offers support to families of Beslan hostages 2 September 2004 Russian Red Cross (RRC) psychologists and nurses are providing assistance to the parents and relatives of the hundreds of people being held hostage in a school in the town of Beslan, in the Russian region of North Ossetia. Armed fighters seized the school on Wednesday, taking hostage children, their parents and teachers. Some have been wounded in the incident. The exact number of hostages is unclear, but could number as many as 400. Some 16 people are reported to have died as a result of the attack. “We are appealing to your human feelings,” said RRC Secretary General Erik Prazdinikov in an appeal to the hostage-takers. “No aim is worth the sacrifice of a human life. Children are innocent … They cannot and should not be used as a means of putting pressure on authorities or a means of achieving any aims,” he added. The local branch of the RRC in Beslan, headed by the chief doctor of the central district hospital, has been directly involved in providing assistance, while 25 psychologists and 60 nurses from the RRC have been mobilized and are providing assistance to distraught relatives. The Russian Red Cross has set up an operational group at its headquarters in Moscow to coordinate Red Cross workers and volunteers, and the distribution of humanitarian aid if necessary, while in the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz, the RRC has established a team to organise assistance to the hostages and their relatives. Surgical materials, bandages and medicines have been sent to the Beslan central hospital by the Russian Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross from Moscow. For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: In Moscow: Tatiana Klenitskaya, Russian Red Cross Press Officer Tel: + 7095 126 31 81 or 126 75 71 or 126 8401 Rita Plotnikova, Federation Information Officer Tel: + 7095 126 1566 / mobile: + 7095 991 17 12 In Geneva: Marie-Françoise Borel, Information Officer Tel. + 41 22 730 43 46 / + 41 79 217 33 45 Media Service Duty Phone Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81 The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 178 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
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