1995 Shali cluster bomb attack
{{Infobox civilian attack
|title=1995 Shali cluster bomb attack
|image=
|caption=
|target=Market, hospital, cemetery, school, collective farm
|date=3 January 1995
|time=
|timezone=
|type=Cluster bombing
|fatalities=55–100+
|injuries=At least 168
|perps=Russian Air Force
|motive=
}}{{Campaignbox First Chechen War}}
The 1995 Shali cluster bomb attack was an attack which occurred on 3 January 1995, when Russian fighter jets bombed the Chechen town of Shali with cluster bombs.
Events
Eighteen cluster bombs were reportedly dropped in and around Shali on that day in several runs. The bombs hit a roadside market first, followed by a gas station,[https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Russia1.htm Russia: Three Months of War in Chechnya], Human Rights Watch, February 1995 and a hospital, in which civilians, as well as Russian prisoners of war, were being treated.[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/05/world/yeltsin-orders-bombing-halt-on-rebel-city.html?pagewanted=all Yeltsin Orders Bombing Halt On Rebel City], The New York Times, January 5, 1995[http://www.newsweek.com/id/106871 'These People Can Never Be Pacified': A Report From The Besieged City, Where Russian Bombs Haven't Dented Chechen Resolve], Newsweek, Jan 16, 1995 The aircraft then went on to strafe a Muslim cemetery. A school and a collective farm were also targeted.[http://mcc.org/clusterbombs/resources/research/death/chapter3.html#4B1A Cluster Munitions Use by Russian Federation Forces in Chechnya] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630221659/http://mcc.org/clusterbombs/resources/research/death/chapter3.html#4B1A |date=2007-06-30 }}, Mennonite Central Committee, 2000
At least 55 people were killed (including five medical workers) and 186 people were wounded. An estimate by the Russian presidential human rights office put the number of killed at over 100. No military targets were reported in the area at the time of the attack.
Boris Yeltsin's office announced a halt to air raids on Grozny, but the statement did not rule out the use of heavy artillery, which caused damage to civilian targets. The military's tactics raised concerns over civilian casualties, causing protests in Russia and drawing criticism from Western governments.{{Cite news |last=Rupert |first=James |date=1995-01-05 |title=CIVILIANS HIT DESPITE YELTSIN VOW |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/01/05/civilians-hit-despite-yeltsin-vow/f2757813-4f97-4ae1-bb93-48b15260f52e/ |access-date=2023-03-07 |issn=0190-8286}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{in lang|pl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120906064058/http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/wydarzenia/artykuly/60035,czeczenka-opowiedziala-straszna-historie.html Czeczenka opowiedziała straszną historię], Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat, September 17, 2007
{{Chechen wars}}
{{Chechnya-stub}}
{{coord missing|Russia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shali cluster bomb attack}}
Category:1995 disasters in Russia
Category:Attacks on hospitals during the Chechen–Russian conflict
Category:20th-century mass murder in Russia
Category:Russian war crimes in Chechnya
Category:War crimes of the First Chechen War
Category:Wartime hospital bombings in Europe
Category:1995 building bombings
Category:Marketplace attacks in Russia
Category:School bombings in Russia
Category:Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Russia
Category:Cemetery vandalism and desecration