PhotoDude.com

Thu. Oct 24, 2002

Rebels Hold Hundreds

Rebels Hold Hundreds – "Chechen gunmen shot and killed one of the hundreds of hostages taken captive in a Moscow theater to demand Russia end its bloody war in the Caucasus province, news media reported Thursday [...] A pro-rebel Web site, www.kavkaz.org, said Thursday that Russia had seven days to begin withdrawing from Chechnya or the theater would be blown up."

In the midst of the breaking story on the DC sniper, it might be easy to skim over this story, thinking it’s sad, but a Russian problem.

Think again. "Two Americans — a man and woman — were among the hostages, a U.S. Embassy official said, but did not provide identities. Citizens of the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Latvia also were confirmed to be among the captives."

Reports indicate that some Muslims were released shortly after the theater was taken over. Otherwise, the Chechen rebels are making this a very multilateral threat.