Russia: the death toll from the attack on a concert hall near Moscow increases
The death toll from the attack on a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow on Friday March 22, claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), has increased further, the Investigative Committee announced this Saturday March 23. In a press release, investigators explained that they had found “
other bodies while clearing the rubble
”, bringing the toll “
to 115 dead
”. “
Search operations are continuing
,” they said. Searching the rubble at the site of the Moscow attack will take “
several days
,” the governor warned.
Improvised memorial in front of Crocus City Hall, the day after a gun attack in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow, on March 23, 2024. AFP - OLGA MALTSEVA
By: Anissa El Jabri Follow
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From our correspondent in Moscow,
The atmosphere in the Russian capital is heavy: Red Square is cordoned off by a system of several barriers and a police force, security forces patrol everywhere: in the metro, the stations, the airports. Traffic in the vibrant city of Moscow is also particularly thin during the first spring rains. The illuminated panels at the traffic lights have replaced the advertisements with, as a sign of mourning, the photo of a lit candle and these words: “
we are crying
” with the date March 23, 2024.
All classes at universities and schools are suspended, as are all gatherings. The list of sports competitions canceled in Moscow and in many major Russian cities is dizzying.
Football, hockey, volleyball or fencing tournaments, alpine skiing in Arkangelsk in the north of the country, not very far from Finland, as far as Tyumen in Siberia, appointments are canceled.
At the scene of
the attack
, 719 rescuers are working according to the authorities. The Crocus concert hall is destroyed; in the images, we see the emergency services operating in the ashes, rubble and iron of the framework. In the fire in the room a large part of the video recordings would have been destroyed.
Very harsh images
The first images arriving from the shopping center are very harsh: bodies lying next to each other, not yet wrapped in black plastic bags. The places where they were found say a lot about this evening of horror: 14 bodies on the fire escapes, 28 in one of the toilets of the concert hall, entire families found dead while hugging each other. others, say the Russian media.
And as the death toll increases, the shock wave spreads. For example, this message received a short time ago: “
a work colleague of my partner died at the concert
”.
Flowers are already placed not far from the Crocus and at the foot of monuments in cities across the country. On a Russian television channel, we hear sentences like: “
we were afraid of drone attacks, it turns out that we should have been afraid of terrorists like 20 years ago.
» Security forces stage arrests, confession videos to boot.
It has now been 18 hours since the attack began and Vladimir Putin has still not spoken. “
He will do it
,” said his spokesperson Dimitri Peskov, without specifying when. The last time he was seen speaking on security issues was before the FSB four days ago. The Russian head of state brushed aside the terrorist threat, described the American alerts as “
blackmail and an attempt to intimidate and destabilize our society
” and urged him to hunt down the traitors. to Russia.
Two weeks ago, the United States Embassy in Moscow warned of the risk of an extremist attack in the Russian capital and called for all gatherings to be avoided.
Read alsoVladimir Putin wants to mobilize the FSB against pro-kyiv Russian units in the Belgorod region
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