RUSSIA: Chechen separatists denied involvement in the school hostage drama in southern Russia yesterday and a bomb attack in Moscow the previous day.
But Akhmed Zakayev, British-based envoy of rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, could not rule out the possibility Chechens had been driven to such an act out of "despair" over Russian policy in their region.
At least nine people were killed and more than 50 injured late on Tuesday when a suicide bomber set off an explosion in busy central Moscow.
Yesterday morning an armed gang attacked a school in the province of North Ossetia near Chechnya and took over 300 children and parents hostage.
"No such actions have been sanctioned or agreed to in any way," Mr Zakayev told Reuters by telephone from London.
Chechen rebels, battling for a decade against Russian rule, are widely thought to have been behind a series of deadly attacks in Russia in the past few weeks.
"If it does turn out that they are Chechens and they make demands connected to the situation in Chechnya, then responsibility lies doubly with the authorities," Mr Zakayev said.
"As long as there is no prospect for peaceful resolution, there are a great many people in Chechnya who may be driven by despair to such acts," he added.
The rebel web site kavkazcenter.com, which represents more radical separatist groups, including one headed by Russia's most wanted rebel Shamil Basayev, also denied involvement and blamed the attacks on Moscow's tough policy in Chechnya.
"There is no excuse for these inhumane actions, as there is no excuse for 42,000 Chechen schoolchildren killed by the Russian military under orders from the Kremlin and personally ( President Vladimir) Putin," said a statement posted on the site. - (Reuters)