http://www.library.by
|
 |
Russian Experts Freed Unharmed in Iraq
April 13, Eight employees of a Russian energy company seized by masked gunmen in Baghdad were released unharmed Tuesday after less than a day in captivity, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said that no one had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands were known to have been made prior to the release of the captives. The men work for the Russian energy company Interenergoservis, which is restoring a power plant near Baghdad.
"As a result of the efforts made during the past hours by the Russian side, all the specialists of Interenergoservis who were abducted on the evening of April 12 have been released," the ministry said in a statement.
It said the captives had returned to their residence in Baghdad and none had been hurt.
Russian civilian experts were kidnapped in Baghdad and taken in an unidentified direction by a group of gunmen in masks Monday, April 12 at about 7 p.m. Moscow time. The experts were kidnapped from a 2-storey house at Al-Rubai Street, northeast of Iraqi capital. There was no firing during the kidnapping. The hostages worked as adjusters at the construction site of an electric power plant in Baghdad's suburb, a facility of vital importance for thousands of Iraqis.
The first to report the kidnapping was Qatari channel Al Jazeera, which said 11 Russians had been taken hostage. Later, however, this information was corrected by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID), when MID official spokesman Aleskander Yakovenko said there were 8 seized Russians. Some time later, there appeared still another piece of information that the gunmen kidnapped 9 Russian experts, but released one of them right away.
Along with the 9 Russian specialists, the Iraqi security guard of the building, who did not render resistance, was driven away in an unknown direction. Interenergoservice denied earlier reports that two armed Iraqi security guards were killed during the kidnapping, ITAR-TASS reports.
Since last night, the Russian side, including the Russian embassy in Iraq, had been doing its best to find out more about the seized experts and have them freed as soon as possible.
Alexander Yakovenko, MID spokesman, had previously said there was “no excuse for the hostage taking of people who arrived in Iraq at this very difficult moment for the friendly country to help the Iraqi people restore their peaceful life.” He demanded that the perpetrators immediately freed the innocent people. Mr. Yakovenko said “hostage taking of foreign citizens in Iraq is the result of sharp escalation of tensions in the country whose security is now the responsibility of the coalition forces." "Moscow is convinced of the need for a cease-fire, stabilization and settlement, including with the help of all Iraqi political forces, which would restore Iraq's sovereignty," ITAR-TASS quotes the statement of the Foreign Ministry.
In view of the aggravation of the situation in Iraq, a decision was taken on a state level to evacuate the Russian personnel from Iraq. The Ministry for Emergency Situations provided special flights to evacuate the Russian citizens starting Tuesday.
The number of civilian personnel who are staying in Iraq is around 550, ITAR-TASS reports.
The Russian foreign ministry recommends that Russian citizens avoid traveling to Iraq.
|
|
|
