January 10, 1996
Web posted at: 12:20 a.m. EST (0520 GMT)
KIZLYAR, Russia (CNN) -- Chechen rebels reportedly freed 2,000 hostages they had seized in the southern Russian town of Kizlyar and were headed back to Chechnya early Wednesday.
The Interfax news agency said the rebel group "Lone Wolf" left the hospital and boarded 11 buses to return to Chechnya. The report says they were accompanied by leaders from the Republic of Dagestan, where the siege occurred.
The rebels took the hostages at the hospital after an attempt to destroy a heliport in Kizlyar failed. The group had threatened to begin killing the hostages, mostly women, if Moscow did not withdraw the 40,000 Russian troops that occupy their breakaway republic. Earlier reports indicated that two of the hostages were already killed.
Later Tuesday, the rebels downgraded their demands and negotiated for safe passage out of Kizlyar. At least 23 people died in the siege.
It was the second time Chechen rebels took hostages at a hospital across the border in southern Russia. Last June, rebels took hundreds of hostages in a Budyonovsk hospital. Russian troops stormed the site in a debacle that left one hundred people dead.
Chechnya has been fighting with Russia for 13 months in an effort to gain independence. More than 25,000 people have died in the conflict. Russian troops control two-thirds of Chechnya.
![[Imagemap]](/EVENTS/world_of_faith/faith_navbar.gif)
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.