Several of the hundreds of hostages held by about 40 heavily armed Chechens in a Moscow theatre emerged this afternoon, shortly after a group of four mediators bearing a white flag entered the building to seek an end to the desperate standoff.
The assailants stormed the theatre, hosting one of Moscow's most popular musicals last night and threatened to shoot the audience and blow up the building if Russian security forces tried to storm the theatre. The attackers demanded Russia end the war in Chechnya.
Russian authorities held talks with the hostage takers. The hostage-takers demanded to talk with Iosif Kobzon, a parliament member and singer who has performed songs lauding Chechnya, and with International Red Cross representatives.
Four people, including a man waving some white fabric like a flag, entered the building about 1:20pm (1920 AEST).
Kobzon was one of them and a spokesman for the Federal Security Service said the others were Red Cross representatives.
Shortly thereafter, a man in his 60s, appearing feeble and distraught left the theatre. The Interfax news agency identified him as a British citizen, but did not provide details. A woman and three children, believed to be Russians, were let out a few minutes later.
A US embassy spokesman said two Americans - a man and a woman - were among the hostages but did not provide further details. Citizens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Australia, Azerbaijan and Germany also were confirmed to be among the hostages.
Hostage Maria Shkolnikova, who spoke with Echo of Moscow radio by cellular phone, said the hostage-takers had also asked to talk with representatives of Doctors Without Borders and that they said foreigners could be released after the talks.
"People are close to a nervous breakdown," said Shkolnikova, who added that the hostages had been fed only some water and chocolate.
The Interfax news agency reported that the Red Cross's top official in Moscow, Michel Minning, arrived at the scene. Minning was among the negotiators in the 1997 hostage-taking at the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru.
The hostage takers told Aslanbek Aslakhanov, a deputy from Chechnya to the federal parliament who was serving as a mediator, they wanted Russian troops to leave Chechnya and a ceasefire in the three-year old war, lawmaker Yuli Rybakov said. Aslakhanov was continuing to talk to the hostage-takers this morning, Shkolnikova said.
Bid to offer hostage-takers safe passage to another country
The Russian authorities are prepared to offer the hostage-takers who have seized up to 1,000 theatre-goers at a Moscow theatre safe passage to another country, a senior Russian deputy said today.
The Chechen commandos who are holding the hostages could be granted ``passage in conditions of security to another country,'' Ruslan Khasbulatov, a former parliamentary speaker and himself an ethnic Chechen, said as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Khasbulatov said the crisis team set up by the Russian authorities had asked him to pass on the message to the group.
``I am inclined to believe this promise,'' he said, giving no other details.
His statement could not be confirmed from official sources.
Khasbulatov said he had had one telephone contact with the group, along with fellow-Chechen State Duma (lower house) deputy Aslanbek Aslakhanov, overnight.
``They set out their demands but said they would not negotiate,'' ITAR-TASS quoted him as saying.
He said he was continuing efforts to engage in dialogue with the group.
The Chechen commando which stormed into the theatre last night said it would blow up the building with everyone in it if the Russian authorities do not order a withdrawal of Russian troops within the next seven days.
Australians thought to be among hostages
The Chechen rebels who have seized up to 1,000 hostages including Australians in a Moscow theatre are demanding that representatives of the Red Cross and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors without Borders) be sent to talk with them, one of the hostages said today, as quoted by Moscow Echo radio.
However the rebels said that no Russians should be among the representatives sent to talk to them, the hostage, Maria Shkolnikova, said.
They are also demanded the group include representatives of the countries from which several foreign nationals among the hostages originate, she said.
Shkolnikova said there were 62 foreign nationals among the hostages, including Australians, Dutch, Bulgarians, Canadians, Lithuanians, Moldovans, Yugoslavs, Belarussians, Turkmens, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Georgians, Americans, Germans, Britons, Swiss and Ukrainians.
One of the Australians is thought to be a 56-year-old Melbourne man, ABC news reported.
Policeman shot dead, says website
Earlier, the Chechen separatist internet website kavkaz.org said a Russian policeman had been shot dead today by the rebels.
It said that the policeman approached the theatre's central entrance at around 6am Moscow time (1200 AEST), pretending to be drunk and demanding to be let in.
"After several warnings, the mujahideen (Islamic fighters) shot the policeman," kavkaz.org claimed.
A journalist from Moscow Echo radio who is among the captives reported at about the same time of the morning that the armed Chechen rebels had opened fire through a side-door.
"We can't understand why it's happening. There is panic among the hostages, they are begging not to start an assault under any circumstances," the Interfax news agency reported her as saying.
Two gunshots were heard by an AFP correspondent near the theatre, apparently from outside the building.
AFP