Blasts heard at school
2004-09-02 22:44
Moscow - Two large explosions have been heard at the school in Russia where hundreds of people are being held hostage.
But Sky News' Rachel Amatt has said it does not seem that special forces are storming the building.
Earlier, gunmen freed 31 women and children - they were said to be in a satisfactory condition.
Television footage showed infants, some carried by armed soldiers, being taken to waiting vehicles, along with the women.
It has also emerged that 16 people were killed early in the siege.
The armed group of about 40 men and women stormed the school in Beslan, North Ossetia, on Wednesday, seizing about 400 adults and children who were gathered for a start-of-term celebration.
The Russian government has insisted the stand-off will be ended peacefully and has ruled out storming the building in the near future.
An intelligence chief said the siege would be ended by "lengthy negotiations".
b>Women trained as suicide bombers
A prominent doctor is leading talks for the government - rebels say they will talk only to regional leaders and paediatrician Lev Roshal.
The gunmen broke off talks with Roshal overnight and refused all offers of food and water.
The assault by the gang, which according to some accounts included women trained as suicide bombers, bears the signs of a Chechen rebel operation.
However, Chechen separatist leaders have denied links.
The United Nations security council has issued a unanimous condemnation of the attack.
It has demanded "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack".
The siege is the latest in a recent spate of deadly attacks in Russia which have killed more than 100.
- News24