Beslan School Hostage Crisis (2004)
Done by:Chan Wei
Keith Goh
Lim Zhong Hui
Wong Qin Jiang
BACKGROUND INFO
- A town in North Ossetia
- Population of 35,550 (2002 census)
- Ethnic groups in the town:
a)Ossetians (82%)
b)Russians (13%)
The Town: Beslan
- Comintern Street SNO, one of seven schools in Beslan
- Had about 60 teachers and over 800 students
- Became famous around the world on the fateful day of September 1, 2004
The School
TIMELINE
1 September 2004• Referred to as “First September”• Children accompanied by parents and relatives to attend ceremonies hosted by the school
At 09:30 AM, 34 armed men and women stormed the school• 50 people escaped•~1200 taken hostage
Day 1
Terrorist Action• The attackers singled out the 15–20 strongest adults that might present a threat• Took them to the cafeteria, where an explosion took place• A security cordon was established around the school• A line of three apartment buildings facing the school gym was evacuated and taken over by special forces
Day 1
To deter rescue attempts• Improvised explosive devices • Tripwires• Kill 50 hostages for every member killed• Kill 20 hostages for every gunman• Blow up school if government forces attack
Day 1
Russian government•Would not use force to rescue hostages• Negotiations towards a peaceful resolution
United Nations Security Council• Council members demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack”
Day 1
Negotiation between Roshal and hostage-takers proven unsuccessful• Refused to allow food, water, medicine to be taken in for the hostages and the removal of dead bodies from school
Russian government downplayed numbers, stating there were 354 hostages and 15-20 militants in school• Angered hostage-takers
Day 2
Vladmire Putin makes first public comment•Main task: Save the lives and health of those who became hostages
Protests erupted• Signs reading “Putin! Release our children! Meet their demands!” and “Putin! There are at least 800 hostages!”• Demands referred to formal independence to Chechnya
Day 2
At 13:00, medical workers allowed to remove bodies outside school buildings• Agreed with the attackers• Terrorists open fired at them
Day 3
Two explosions in gym• Many died outright• Many injured• Demolished part of gym, allowing ~30 to escape alive
Gym roof collapses• Many hostages crushed under rubble
Day 3
Russian specialist forces stormed building• Militants moved hostages to other parts of school• Used them as human shields• Many hostages were being shot by troops• Blew holes in school walls for more hostages to escape
Russian forces claimed they had most of the school under control
At 18:50, fighting ends• All terrorists and hostages killed
Day 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4YKxBFUlMI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfvcESPR-tg&feature=related
The Event
Territorial Terrorism (Chechnya)
-The Chechens originate from Muslims and have lived in the Caucasus region for centuries, consistently resisting Soviet Control
-In WWII, Josef Stalin, accused the Chechens of co-operating with the Nazis, forcibly deporting the whole population to Kazakhstan
-Thousands died and the survivors could only return to their homeland after Stalin died in 1953
Reasons behind Attack
In 1991 (fall of SU), Chechnya with 14 other republics declared themselves independent of Russia
Surprisingly, Moscow granted all 14 independence, save Chechnya.
In 1994, Boris Yeltsin sent Russian troops to take back control
A war ensued till 1996, in which 80,000 died
Chechnya was then granted only partial independence
An Ongoing Conflict…
ACTS OF TERROR (increasing)
Hatred
WarsAnimosity
Xenophobia:Orthodox Christians VS Islamic Cechens
Full independence
Cechens want to run own country but Russia does
not allow it.
In a Nutshell..
Revenge
• Much bad blood between both sides already
• Chechens have suffered under Russia for so long
Push for their cause
• Draw attention to Chechnya’s plight
• Capture the attention of the whole world
Stupid?
• VERY• Nearly all
died• Alienated
the world, moderates, and other Muslims
Why Attack the School?
Comparison between these terrorist attacks and others
Learning points
Problems identified•Allegations of incompetence and rights violations•Disinformation and suppression of information•Government response
Learning points
Allegations of incompetence and rights violations• Police roadblocks on the way to Beslan were removed shortly
before the terrorist attack and many blamed rampant corruption allowing militants to simply bribe their way through the checkpoints• Storming of school was ruthless• Claims cited the use of heavy weapons such as tanks and
Shmel flamethrowers • 80% of hostages were killed by indiscriminate Russian fire • Authorities failed to organize the siege properly, failing to keep
the scene secure from entry by civilians• Emergency services were not prepared during 52 hours of the
crisis• Government unable to identify whose child was alive or dead
Learning points
Disinformation and suppression of information• 83% of polled Russians believed that the government was
hiding at least a part of the truth about the Beslan events from them• Widespread media censorship of event
• Was not broadcast live by the three major state-owned Russian television networks• Main state owned broadcasters did not interrupt their
regular programming following the school seizure• After explosions and gunfire started on the third
day, NTV Russia (the main television channel owned by Gazprom) started to broadcast a World War II soap opera
Learning points
Government Response• Government stated that tanks and other heavy
weaponry were used only after surviving hostages escaped from the school, contradicting eye-witnesses• Eye-witness: Hostages were seriously wounded and
could not possibly escape while others were human shields• National commission in Moscow: "instead of calling
for self-criticism in the wake of the disaster, the commission recommended the Russian government to crack down harder."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis#Motives_and_demands
http://incogman.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/beslan-montage.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis#Day_one
Bibliography