agora2
23.10.02, 22:02
Wednesday, 23 October, 2002, 19:43 GMT 20:43 UK
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2354753.stm
Guerrillas seize Moscow theatre
news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38377000/jpg/_38377555_theatre300.jpg
The Palace of Culture is in a run-down area of Moscow
Up to 100 armed guerrillas have stormed a Moscow theatre, taking up to 1,000
members of the audience, theatre staff and actors hostage.
The theatre was holding a performance of the most popular Russian musical
Nord-Ost.
Chechen separatists contacted the BBC to say the hostage-takers had planted
explosives in the theatre and were led by a nephew of Chechen warlord Arbi
Barayev.
They demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, and
said they were prepared to die for their cause.
They also reportedly said that if Russian security forces tried to attack,
they would blow up the theatre.
The gunmen initially allowed members of the audience - at a Palace of
Culture in a working-class area in the southwest of the city - to use mobile
phones to tell people outside.
The audience and those people released said the attackers, who consisted of
men wearing combat uniforms and women in veils, had explosives strapped to
their bodies.
Capacity crowd
The number of people taken hostage is unknown, but the play is very popular
and always attracts a capacity crowd.
Reports say children and Muslim members of the audience have been released.
Police teams rushed to the scene but there were no initial reports of
casualties.
The area has been sealed off and President Vladimir Putin is said to be
watching the situation closely.
Our correspondent says the Chechen rebels have been threatening to strike in
Moscow, so this was probably a well-planned operation.
