Chicago, IL, January 16, 1996-- Unrest appears to be spreading throughout Chechnya and surrounding regions of Russia as a second day of fierce hand-to-hand fighting continues in the village of Pervomaiskeyo. Unconfirmed reports of the hijacking of a Russian-bound ferry at the Turkish port of Trabzon have been received in past hour. According to the semi-official Turkish Anatolia news agency, as many as twenty (20) masked Chechen gunmen have seized a ocean-going ferry and its Russian crew and have threatened to kill all of the Russians on board unless they are allowed to put to sea.
According Turkish police sources, several gunmen, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols took over the vessel at approximately 9:45p.m.(local time). An eyewitness, a woman who reportedly escaped from the ship, said that several passengers and crew had been wounded during the assault on the ship. Forty-five (45) crewmen and one-hundred and twenty (120) passengers are believed on-board at the time of the take-over. Turkish officials say that the ship, reportedly named the Avrasya, was originally destined for Sochi in Southern Russia, but that they are now uncertain of its current destination.
In the Chechen capitol of Grozny, the ITAR-Tass news agency is reporting that earlier today an additional thirty (30) hostages have also been taken from an electric generating plant by forces suspected of supporting the besieged Chechen rebels in Pervomaiskoye. Conflicting reports have been issued by differing government sources as to the facts of the hostage-taking in Grozny, but it is believed that the several workers were taken against their will and transported to an unknown destination in a previously commandeered bus. the current location of the Grozny hostages is unknown at the time of this report.
Meanwhile in Pervomaiskeyo, what is being described a "fierce hand-to-hand" and "building to building" fighting continues. What was expected by Moscow officials to be a short skirmish "without extensive bloodshed", has turned into a bloody two-day siege that has taken the lives of more than one-hundred (100) Chechens, at least four (4) Russian soldiers, and an unknown number of innocent civilians. The fate of hostages, taken on Jan. 9th by Chechen rebels known as the "Lone Wolves", still remains in doubt at the time of this report. One on-scene Russian commander was quoted by Reuters News service as saying that the Chechens were so firmly entrenched and well equipped that he fears that the "Battle of Pervomaiskeyo" could go on for the remainder of this week.
As the battle rages in Pervomaiskeyo, and the destiny of another one-hundred and ninety-five (195) hostages now is in doubt, it would appear that the stage is being set for any number of other crisis situations and dramatic events, throughout the strife-striken region.
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