Baku-Rostov highway bombing
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| Baku-Rostov highway bombing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Near Shami-Yurt, Chechnya |
| Date | October 29, 1999 |
| Attack type | Indiscriminate bombing |
| Deaths | At least 25 |
| Injured | Up to 70 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Russian Air Force |
The Baku-Rostov highway bombing was an incident which occurred on near Shami-Yurt, Chechnya, on October 29, 1999. Two Russian aircraft carried out a rocket attack on a large convoy of refugees heading into Ingushetia using a supposed "safe exit" route, killing or injuring about 100 people, including journalist Ramzan Mezhidov.
The victims included International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement workers and journalists, and numerous women and children. Many of them were reportedly burned alive while trapped in their vehicles.
According to the Amnesty International report,
[A]t the time of the Russian attacks there were no legitimate military targets in the area. Eyewitness accounts of this incident would seem to indicate that the Russian forces had deliberately targeted civilians and civilian objects, despite some of them being marked with the Red Cross emblem, in violation of international humanitarian law.[1]
The incident took place after it was officially announced that the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia would re-open following a week's closure. However, the convoy was not permitted to cross the border and was turned back and subsequently bombed.
Russian authorities have officially denied responsibility for civilian casualties as a result of the attack.
