MOSCOW -- A powerful explosion ripped through an electric commuter train in southern Russia on Friday morning, killing at least 41 people and injuring at least 155.

Authorities called it a "terrorist" act by a suicide bomber, an unidentified man who reportedly detonated a shrapnel-filled bomb aboard the train.

Three women were also involved in the attack, Russian authorities said. One was critically injured in the blast and was not expected to survive, and the two others jumped from the train and apparently escaped, officials said.

The train was carrying a large number of university students, and many of the dead were young people, officials said.

The crowded rush-hour train had just pulled out from a station in the town of Yessentuki in the Stavropol region not far from Chechnya when its second car suddenly shattered in the blast, sending some passengers flying through the air and spraying metal shards through scores of Russians heading to work.

Russian officials pointed toward Chechen separatists who have been waging a relentless guerrilla war against Russian troops for most of the last decade.

President Vladimir Putin said the attack was "an attempt to destabilize the situation in the country on the eve of parliamentary elections" scheduled for Sunday.

The attack was the second bombing of the same train line in the last three months and the latest of a dozen bombings in Chechnya and elsewhere around Russia that before Friday had already killed about 250 people over the past year.

"We will find those who did it," Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov vowed at a public meeting, according to the Interfax news service. "The earth will be burning under their feet. These animals will not feel safe anywhere. We will find them and punish them as the law demands."

A Chechen rebel leader, Aslan Maskhadov, issued a statement denying responsibility for the bombing. The statement condemned "any acts of violence that directly or indirectly target the civilian population anywhere in the world."

The latest bombing risked inflaming public passions just two days before Sunday's parliamentary elections, in which terrorism and the President Putin's war in Chechnya remain important, but not dominant, issues.

Putin's political party, headed by Gryzlov, hopes to solidify its hold over the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. All 450 seats in the Duma are up for election Sunday for four-year terms.

Television from Yessentuki on Friday showed a train car torn to shreds as rescue workers combed through the wreckage searching for survivors.

Authorities reported finding 35 dead at the scene and said another six died later at a hospital. More than 100 others were hospitalized, while 50 people were treated at the scene for minor injuries and released, officials reported.

The train was traveling from Kislovodsk to Mineralniye Vodi just after 7:40 a.m. when it was attacked, officials said.

Itar-Tass, the Russian news agency, reported that Russia's FSB security agency found the body of a suicide bomber near a bag which may have held the explosives.

An FSB spokesman told Itar-Tass that "next to the body of the suicide bomber a bag was found which to all appearances contained the explosive device which went off in the commuter train.

"The type of the explosive device has been identified. It's main component was a plastic-based explosive. The power of the blast was equivalent to between six and ten kilograms [13 and 22 pounds] of TNT."

Female suicide bombers, often called "black widows" by the Russian tabloid press, have been responsible for many of the terrorist attacks over the last year. Bombers have attacked a hospital, a rock concert, a bus and various government installations.

Six people died of injuries suffered in an explosion in September on the same Kislovodsk commuter train. Since then, though, the spate of attacks had seemed to subside.

Russian troops attacked in 1994 to put down a separatist movement in Chechnya. An ensuing war ended in a cease-fire in 1996.

When the Chechens launched a new cross-border attack into Dagestan in 1999, Putin responded with a new offensive.

Putin first came to power on the strength of his military response to Chechen insurgency in 1999, although the public has grown weary of the war since then. A cottage conspiracy industry has even emerged accusing the government of staging bombings of apartment buildings in Russia in 1999 to generate support for Putin's war.

Putin has tried to settle the Chechnya conflict with a "normalization" plan that included a new constitution for the region, partial amnesty for some guerrillas who laid down their arms and election of a Kremlin-supported regional president in October.

Putin has also promised to negotiate a new agreement that would grant Chechnya certain power to run its affairs while remaining part of the Russian federation. However, he has refused to negotiate with leaders of the independence movement that has fought two wars with Moscow since 1994.

Dec.05, 2003

Chechen muslims condemn Friday's terrorist act in Stavropol

Islam profoundly condemns any manifestations of extremism and terrorism. Killing innocent civilians cannot be justified by political or other motives. The worldwide problem should not be uncompromising, Imam of the Achkhoy-Martan mosque Adam Kubtayev said on Friday, commenting on the terrorist act in Stavropol Territory.

According to him, Chechen Muslims have condemned the criminal actions of the murderers and fully supported the authorities' efforts to eradicate this evil. The imam expressed condolences to relatives and friends of the victims of today's terrorist act and called on the media not to jump to conclusions regarding this tragedy.

Terrorists have no nationality and to look for an "ethnic trace" is wrong and harmful. One should wait for the official investigation results, the imam said.

//ITAR-TASS//

Sat 6 Dec 2003

Russian train blast condemned

AFP - World leaders condemned what Britain called a "vicious attack" on a Russian commuter train, in which at least 42 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

The United States said nothing could justify such a "terrorist act."

"We reiterate our condemnation of those who engage in terrorism," deputy State Department spokesman Adem Ereli told reporters.

"No cause, no circumstances justify such actions."

In Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said the EU executive rejected any form of terrorism, "whatever the motives and whoever the authors".

Speaking for the British government, Junior Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said: "I condemn this vicious attack and extend my sympathies to the families."

He added that British Prime Minister Tony Blair had personally sent condolences to the Russian government.

Despite European criticism of Russia's policies in Chechnya, from where the bombers were reported to have come, there was no stinting of the condemnation of the violence.

"No cause justifies the recourse to such acts," said the spokeswoman for the French foreign ministry, Cecile Pozzo di Borgo, said.

French President Jacques Chirac, who was on a visit to Tunisia, said he had "learnt with dismay about the terrible attack carried out in a suburban train that caused the death of so many people".

He said he was "indignant and deeply saddened at this terrorist act".

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, in a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he was shocked to learn of the "cruel attack".

"This hateful attack should be condemned in the strongest terms," he said.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the bombing was a "despicable act of terror" that "fills us with dismay and outrage".

Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the attack was aimed at destabilising Russia two days before legislative elections.

"This new despicable terrorist act against innocent civilians in Russia fills me with horror," he said in a statement.

"Those who aim to destabilise the southern part of Russia bear a particularly heavy responsibility. On the eve of the December 7 elections, Russia must be able to choose its future serenely and freely," Michel added.

Prodi also said the blast was aimed at destabilising the election. He said the European Commission was committed to the fight against world terrorism "side by side with Russia and other international partners, in full respect for the rules of law".

The Chinese foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, also said his country was "willing to work with the international community, including Russia, to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation".

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- who created a stir recently by accusing the media of "telling tales" about the situation in Chechnya, where Russian troops are accused of killing civilians in the war against separatist rebels - said the bombing was another "cowardly" and "barbaric" attack.

"Let's deal with the pain together, united in our determination to defeat hatred and violence with the arms of the rule of law and democracy," Berlusconi said in a letter to Putin.

5.12.2003 Amnesty International UK

Chechen human rights worker wins prestigious Martin Ennals award

The Martin Ennals Foundation announced today that Lida Yusupova has been selected as the winner of the 2004 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

The award, part of a unique collaboration between ten leading non-governmental human rights organisations - including Amnesty International, is being bestowed on Ms Yusupova in recognition of her brave human rights work in Chechnya.

Lida Yusupova is the coordinator of the Grozny office of the Moscow-based human rights organisation Memorial, a small office with only six staff members. The organisation is one of the few human rights organisations still operating in Chechnya, providing the world with crucial information on violations of human rights in this Russian republic.

Lida collects testimonies from those victims of human rights abuses, including in locations where killings and 'disappearances' have occurred. She accompanies the victims in their claims to the Russian Army and Security Services and provides legal assistance to the extent that the judicial system still functions in this part of Russia.

The Chairman of the Jury of the award, Hans Thoolen, called Lida one of the most courageous women in Europe today, saying:

"There is complete consensus among all human rights organisations that Lida deserves the award for her tireless efforts in a situation of war and extreme danger, with increased risk for women."

The Grozny Memorial office has to function in circumstances of danger and complete isolation. Access to Chechnya for international NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and independent media is extremely restricted. Last year Lida's office was the target of a direct attack by the army but the staff has continued its indispensable monitoring work.

The ceremony will take place in Geneva on 7 April 2004. It will be transmitted live by Swiss Television and re-transmitted by TV5 to millions of households.

Background

The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among ten of the world's leading non-governmental human rights organisations. The Jury is composed of the following:

     * Amnesty International,      * Defence for Children,      * German Diakonie,      * Human Rights Watch,      * Huridocs,      * International Alert,      * International Commission of Jurists,      * International Federation for Human Rights,      * International Service for Human Rights and      * the World Organisation Against Torture.

The previous 10 recipients of the MEA are: # Alirio Uribe Muñoz, Colombia (2003); # Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad; # Peace Brigades International, Immaculée Birhaheka, Democratic Republic of Congo; # Natasa Kandic, Yugoslavia; # Eyad El Sarraj, Palestine; # Samuel Ruiz García; Mexico; # Clement Nwankwo, Nigeria; # Asma Jahangir, Pakistan; # Harry Wu, China (1994).

Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was instrumental in the modern human rights movement. He was the first Secretary-General of Amnesty International and the driving force behind many other organisations. His deep desire was to see more cooperation and solidarity among NGOs. The award in his name is evidence that this is possible.

For more information on the Martin Ennals Award: www.martinennalsaward.org

For more information about Russia, visit the Amnesty International Russia campaign site: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/justiceforallinrussia/index.shtml

The Chechen Times

Large-scale "cleansing operation" under way in Grozny

A large-scale "cleansing operation" has been under way in the Chechen capital for the last couple of days. According to informations from local residents, the "special operation" is carried out by Russian troops and members of the local power structures together. The members of the "power structures" suddenly surround a street or block and carry out searches and checks of people's documents in the houses. The people assert that 10 - mainly young - men have been arrested during such "special measures".

The population of the republic is extremely worried about the events and expresses that they are concerned about the continuing arbitrariness by the members of various power ministries. The people note that all their expectations for a change of the situation to the better, in connection with the latest statements by high-ranking Russian and local officials, have proved to be an illusion. The arbitrariness by the members of the "power structures" towards the citizens of the republic continues on the same level as before.

[ 05.12.2003 18:04 ] Information Centre "SNO"