IN THE NEWS - Russia Offers Reward for Chechen Rebel Leaders

IN THE NEWS - Russia Offers Reward for Chechen Rebel Leaders
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, September 11, 2004

This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.

 
Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev 
This week, the government of Russia offered ten million dollars for information leading to two commanders of the rebels in Chechnya. Russian officials say Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov organized the attack a week ago at a school in southern Russia. Aslan Maskhadov is the former president of Chechnya. Both men denied any involvement.

More than three hundred people were killed at the school in the town of Beslan in North Ossetia. Many of them were children. A group of thirty men and women held more than one thousand people hostage for fifty-two hours.

Russian officials say the attackers apparently¹ set off explosives by accident. Many of the hostages then tried to flee and were shot. This led to a raid by Russian security forces that killed most of the attackers. Seven hundred people were injured in the resulting explosions and fire.

A man identified as a captured hostage-taker appeared on state television. He said the attackers were told that the goal was to start a war across the Caucasus. The area has a mixture of ethnic² and religious groups.

Russian officials said several of the militants³ who seized the school came from other countries. Some attackers reportedly were Arabs. This has not been independently confirmed.

Russian media have called the school attack "Russia's 9/11," comparing it to the attacks on the United States on September eleventh, two thousand one. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Moscow Tuesday to denounce terrorism and attacks on children. Anger over the school attack in Beslan led the president of North Ossetia to promise that his government would resign.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to lead a full war against terrorism. But he also noted⁴ weaknesses in Russian security forces. Some officials have proposed travel and other restrictions⁵ in an effort to prevent rebels from moving freely around the country.

For ten years, Russian troops have tried to crush a movement to gain independence for Chechnya and its mostly Muslim population. The Russian government says it has evidence that fighters from Arab countries and other areas have gone to fight in Chechnya. The government believes that the Chechen conflict is an example of international terrorism.

Mister Putin promised to end the Chechen conflict when he was elected four years ago. But he has rejected recent Western calls to negotiate with representatives of the rebels. He said the Chechen cause was designed to spread to all of southern Russia.

The school hostage crisis began one day after a bomber⁶ in Moscow killed herself and nine other people. It happened outside an underground train station. And, a week earlier, bombs destroyed two Russian passenger airplanes. Officials also linked those attacks to female bombers⁷. Ninety people were killed.

In the News in VOA Special English was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》