1999 Grozny refugee convoy shooting

The Grozny refugee convoy shooting occurred on 3 December 1999, when at least 40 people fleeing the besieged Chechen capital Grozny were reportedly killed by Russian special police units, OMON.

Grozny refugee convoy shooting
Part of the Battle of Grozny
LocationNear Grozny, Chechnya
Coordinates43.316667°N 45.683333°E / 43.316667; 45.683333
Date3 December 1999 (1999-12-03)
Attack type
Mass shooting
DeathsAt least 40
Injured7

Incident

According to accounts from survivors, a refugee convoy consisting of about 50 people in seven or eight passenger cars and one bus marked with white flags, was heading towards the border with the Russian republic of Ingushetia, when they approached a federal roadblock near the village of Goyty. One survivor described masked OMON[1] troops opening fire with automatic rifles from their position in the nearby forest without warning. The bus exploded as bullets pierced its fuel tank.[2] After the shooting, Russian soldiers gave first aid and painkillers to the handful of survivors and brought them to the hospital in Ordzhonikidzevskaya, Ingushetia, where journalists interviewed them.[2][3]

The incident happened just a few miles from a major battle at the crossroads of Urus-Martan, which sits astride a road that Chechen militants were using as a supply line. Another battle was under way not far from there, in the village of Alkhan-Kala.[4] The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that the media reports of this incident were disinformation. Officials were quoted as saying that 30 vehicles were destroyed on roads leading out of Grozny, but that all the cars contained rebels, not civilians. They also said they had opened a safe passage out of Grozny for the thousands of civilians.[2]

A similar incident involving refugees fleeing Grozny was reported in August 1996 during the First Chechen War.[5]

See also

References
  1. Cockburn, Patrick (6 December 1999). "Rebels inflict heavy losses as Russian forces close on Grozny". The Independent. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. Wines, Michael (5 December 1999). "New Reports Back Claims of Attack on Chechen Refugee Convoy". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. Wines, Michael (4 December 1999). "Chechen Refugee Convoy Machine-Gunned, Leaving 14 Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. Wines, Michael (5 December 1999). "Russians 'mowed down fleeing civilian convoy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  5. Specter, Michael (15 August 1996). "Truce That Never Was: Chechens Tricked". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.