the roar of explosions and plumes of smoke rising over the building. Russian television footage showed how Russian commandos stormed the building where militants demanding Chechen independence had been holding hundreds of pupils and adults since Wednesday, including dozens of Christian children and at least two missionary workers.
At least 5 militants were reportedly killed and 13 others were said to have fled the complex. There were also reports of causulties amond children, but those reports and the exact number, could not immediately be confirmed Russian media reported more gunfire as Russian troops were in hot pursuit of other militants who are trying to flee the scene.
However eyewitnesses described the scene as ‘chaotic’. As loud explosions and gunfire rang out around the school dozens of frightened children ran from the building, some of them screaming and covered in blood, the Voice of America (VOA) reported.
Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency said hundreds were wounded during the raid, but that report could not yet be confirmed. It was believed there were up to 400 hostates inside during the attack, although some reports spoke of 1500 hostages.
NEGOTIATIONS FAILED
The Russian forces stormed the complex after negotiations broke down. VOA quoted a senior official of the regional Russian government as saying that the hostage takers said they would free the children only if Moscow granted independence to the neighboring republic of Chechnya, a hotbed of separatist sentiment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had said he would "not negotiate with terrorists" although he had come under pressure by hostages’ relatives holding vegil outside the school. The freeing of hostages was expected to be welcomed by Russian Ministries, an evangelical mission organization, which had urged its supporters to pray for the children.
An official of the United States backed Russian Ministries organization, which is actively supporting the school, expressed concern about the situation and urged Christians around the world to pray for the children and everyone else inside, including two staff members.
HOSTAGES CHRISTIANS
Among the hostages were the organization’s "coordinator for (the) region there and the other one is the pastor of the church there in (the school town of) Beslan," Sergey Rakhuba said earlier. "And it happens that they are brothers by blood and by faith and their eight children are there, all of their children are there," he added in an interview monitored by BosNewsLife.
Russian Ministries, which sponsors three Evangelism and Church-Planting Centers in the volatile region, identified the brothers as Taymuraz Totiev, with five children and Sergey Totiev, with three children in the school.
Russia’s government believes the militants are supported by fundamentalist Muslim terrorist networks such as the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
