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"The
Russian have drowned our country in the blood of our sons,"
said Chechen women fighters
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MOSCOW,
October 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Movsar Barayev, leader of
Chechen fighters taking more than 700 people hostage inside a Moscow
theater, said Thursday, October 24 that his Mujahideen, including 20
widows of Chechen soldiers, came to Moscow to fight and die on enemy
land.
"If
[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his gang want to preserve the
lives of his citizens, then they will stop war and will remove their
forces from Chechnya," Barayev, commander of the Islamic Regiment
of Special Task Force, stressed in a phone interview with Kavkaz Center.
"The
only possible way to save the lives of more than a thousand people is
the curtailment of the carnage of Chechen people, the end to war and
withdrawal of invaders from the territory of the independent Chechen
state," he said.
He
asserted that the mined building will be bombed and all will be killed,
if an attempt to storm the building is undertaken.
"Here
are more than one thousand people. No one will leave alive and will be
killed along with us, if there will be an attempt of assault,"
stressed Barayev.
In
a televised statement aired by Al-Jazeera TV channel, one of the Chechen
women fighters, dressed in black, vowed to sacrifice their lives in
defense of their homeland Chechnya.
"Every
people have the right to self-determination. Russia has stripped us of
this right. We are here to claim this right which was given to us, like
all peoples of the globe, by God Almighty," she said.
"The
Russian have drowned our country in the blood of our sons," said
the Chechen woman fighter.
She
accused Russian forces of "killing women, children and elders in
Chechnya."
"We
do not care where to die and that is why we came here to die," she
said, asserting that if they die they will take along with them
"hundreds of infidels."
"Even
if we get killed, other brothers and sisters will come along with the
same readiness to sacrifice their lives," the Chechen woman said.
She
accused Russian forces of perpetrating all forms of terrorism against
the Chechen people, branding Russia as terrorism personified.
"We
are ready to defend our lands with self-sacrifice," she averred.
In
a similar televised statement, also broadcast by Al-Jazeera, one of the
Chechen fighters said they came to Moscow to "stop the war or die
as martyrs."
He
asserted that the operation was ordered by the "supreme military
ruler of Chechnya."
"Each
and every one of us is ready to sacrifice his life for God and in
defense of Chechnya," he stressed.
"We
are yearning to die more than you are seeking to live," averred the
Chechen fighter.
A
Barayev's assistant told Kavkaz Center that 8 people - three remaining
children and five women, were released at about 11 am Moscow local time.
He
asserted that preparations were underway to set free 30 foreigners and
warned the Russian command not to shoot the released hostages.
He
also said that Barayev invited the ambassadors of foreign states to
confirm the identities of the held people who might be foreign citizens.
Commenting
on reports of three blasts, he said that the explosion took place indeed
inside the building of the House of Culture.
A
grenade was thrown by the Mujahideen into one of the empty rooms of the
building for preventive measures, he said.
There
are no casualties, asserted Barayev's assistant .
He
also said that at approximately 6 o'clock in the morning one of the
militiamen was killed when approaching the central entrance of the House
of Culture disguised as a drunken person and asked to enter.
After
several warnings, the Mujahideen shot dead the militiaman.
Contacting
Kavkaz Center at approximately 4 am Moscow time, Barayev's assistant
said that a young woman entered into the building of House of Culture,
although she was warned not to enter.
In
spite of warning, the young woman impudently entered into the hall,
declaring, "And what can you do to me?…". Mujahideen warned
her again that she must leave the building immediately.
However,
the woman did not react to the words of soldiers.
Having
information about the tactics of FSB (the Russian Federal Security
Service), Mujahideen understood that the woman entered for the purpose
of collecting information.
Considering
the seriousness of the prevailing situation, it was decided to shoot the
young woman.
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Stop
your war on the Chechens; withdraw your forces from our land
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Meanwhile,
two young Russian women managed to escape Thursday evening from the
theater, one of whom was wounded as they fled, an FSB security official
told Agence France-Presse (AFP). A Russian special forces agent was also
lightly wounded as he rushed to their assistance, AFP added.
Thirty-seven
hostages have been freed since the crisis erupted, FSB spokeman Sergei
Ignachenko told AFP.
Meanwhile,
Chechen refugees living in Baku, Azerbaijan, organized Thursday a
massive demonstration to support the demands of Chechen independence
fighters to stop war immediately and to withdraw Russian invaders from
Chechnya, sources told Kavkaz Center.
Refugees
demanded an end to the Russian massacres of innocent Chechen citizens
and a start of political negotiations.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he would not give in to a Chechen
commando which took more than 700 people hostage in a Moscow theater,
demanding an end to the Russian military offensives in Chechnya.
"We
will not give in to provocations," AFP quoted Putin as saying,
following a meeting with Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, according to Russian
news agencies.
"The
most important thing is to guarantee the safety of areas near the
theater, to help the hostages and to assist their relatives," Putin
added, with the clear implication that security forces were
contemplating an armed operation to free the hostages.
Speaking
some 17 hours after the Chechen independence fighters' operation began,
Putin accused the Chechen Commando of being linked to the "foreign
terrorist centers" which organized the October 12 bombing in Bali
that left 190 people dead.
"This
is the largest hostage-taking not only in Russia but also abroad,"
he noted.
"The
same people" who organized the Bali bombings had planned the Moscow
hostage-taking, Putin charged.
Putin
earlier cancelled a visit to Mexico where he had been due to meet his
U.S. counterpart George W. Bush on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific
summit.
The
hostage-takers have threatened to blow up the theatre if Russia does not
withdraw its forces from Chechnya.
Putin
has repeatedly refused to negotiate with Chechen fighters, with the
exception of a single and inconclusive round of preliminary talks
between his envoy for southern Russia and an aide to Chechen President
Aslan Maskhadov in Moscow last November
.
