Budyonnovsk hostage crisis
| Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis | |
|---|---|
| Part of the First Chechen War | |
Hostages released from the hospital at Budyonnovsk
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| Location | Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia |
| Coordinates | 44°47′02″N 44°09′57″E / 44.7839°N 44.1658°ECoordinates: 44°47′02″N 44°09′57″E / 44.7839°N 44.1658°E |
| Date | 14–19 June 1995 |
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Attack type
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Hostage crisis |
| Deaths | At least 140 |
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Non-fatal injuries
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At least 415 |
| Perpetrators | Chechen rebels led by Shamil Basayev and Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev |
| Motive | Forcing ceasefire in the war, securing safe return to Chechnya |
The Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis took place from 14 June to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk (pop. 60,000, often spelled Budennovsk), some 70 miles (110 km) north of the border with the de facto independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. The incident resulted in a ceasefire between Russia and Chechen rebels, and peace talks (which later failed) between Russia and the Chechens.
Basayev's men crossed into Stavropol Krai concealed in a column of military trucks. At about noon of 14 June they stormed the main police station and the city hall, where they raised Chechen flags over government offices.
After several hours, in the face of Russian reinforcements, the Chechens retreated to the residential district and regrouped in the city hospital. There they took hostage between 1,500 and 1,800 people (some estimates reaching as high as 2,000 or even 2,500), most of them civilians (including about 150 children and a number of women with newborn infants).
Basayev issued an ultimatum, threatening to kill the hostages unless his demands were met. These included an end to the First Chechen War, and direct negotiations by Russia with the Chechen representatives. Also, Basayev demanded that the Russian authorities bring reporters to the scene and allow them to enter the Chechen position in the hospital. Russian president Boris Yeltsin immediately vowed to do everything possible to free the hostages, denouncing the attack as "unprecedented in cynicism and cruelty."
At about 8 pm on 15 June, the Chechens killed a hostage. When the reporters did not arrive at the arranged time, five other hostages were shot to death on Basayev's order.The New York Times quoted the hospital's chief doctor that "several of the Chechens had just grabbed five hostages at random and shot them to show the world they were serious in their demands that Russian troops leave their land."
But Security Minister Sergei Stepashin called the reports of the execution "a bluff."
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Wikipedia