Elistanzhi cluster bomb attack

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Elistanzhi bombing
Location	Elistanzhi, Chechnya
Date	October 7, 1999
Attack type	Cluster bombing
Deaths	48
Perpetrator(s)	Russian Air Force

Elistanzhi cluster bomb attack occurred on October 7, 1999, when two Russian Su-24 fighter bombers dropped eight to ten cluster bombs on the undefended Chechen village of Elistanzhi. The bombing killed some 48 people, mostly women and children, and injured dozens.

Witnesses and victims stated that there were no Chechen fighters or military objectives in the village prior to or at the time of the attack. Representatives of the Russian human rights group Memorial visited Elistanzhi shortly after the attack and found no evidence of a rebel presence. At least nine children were killed when one bomb hit the local school.

[edit] See also

• Terror bombing

[edit] External links

• Russian warplanes kill dozens of villagers The Independent
• The October 7, 1999, Cluster Bomb Attack on Elistanzhi Mennonite Central Committee
• CHECHNYA: FOR THE MOTHERLAND Reported grave breaches of international humanitarian law Amnesty International