BESLAN, Russia (ABP) — At least a half-dozen children of Baptist leaders were killed when a hostage standoff in a Russian school ended violently Sept. 3, according to Baptist groups from the region.
The two-day crisis in the southern town of Beslan came to a climax when Russian commandos stormed the school following an explosion, according to news sources on the scene. Russian authorities have said that at least 338 people — many of them schoolchildren — were killed in the massacre, and hundreds remain missing.
Baptist World Alliance leaders familiar with the situation said the tragedy hit the local Baptist church in Beslan hard. Pastor Sergey Totjiev and his wife, Bela, lost two children, and one son remains hospitalized with a severe eye injury.
Church elder Taymuras Totjiev — the pastor's brother — and his wife, Ria, had five children taken hostage. Four died and one was injured.
When a crowd of more than 1,500 people gathered outside the homes of the Totiev brothers –who are next-door neighbors — vowing to take revenge against the terrorists, Pastor Totiev reportedly said: “Yes we have an irreplaceable loss, but we cannot take revenge. As Christians, the Bible teaches us that we must forgive. Vengeance is in God's hands.”
In a letter of condolence, BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz wrote: “Our hearts go out to the parents of the children whose lives were so quickly and sadly taken from them. … Men and women of faith from all over the world mourn the unbelievable loss of life that has come to innocent children.”
The BWA's relief arm, Baptist World Aid, is working with local partner Mission Vera to provide for the physical and psychological needs of the children and their families. The group's directors, Yevgeniy and Nadia Zhigulin, attended funerals for many of the victims.
“During the days of deep grief, our employees leave for Beslan for funerals of victims, providing material assistance where needed,” the Zhigulins reported.
Baptist World Aid will provide $2,500 to Mission Vera for relief work in Beslan.
The hostage incident began Sept. 1 when an armed gang took hundreds of children, parents and teachers hostage on the first day of school in Beslan, located in North Ossetia. The region is adjacent to the troubled Russian province of Chechnya, where rebels have been fighting the Moscow government and demanding an independent Islamic republic.
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