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"A coalition of Russian and international human rights organizations united today to condemn in the strongest terms the taking hostage and killing of hundreds of children, parents and teachers by a group of armed men and women in a school in the city of Beslan, North Ossetia in the North Caucasus region of Russia," reads the document.

Meeting participants touched upon questions concerning the resolution of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, Abkhazia's political status, the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the honoring of Sochi agreements by the Russian, Georgian and Abkhazian leadership.

"Such repressive actions have a single goal - to block information about human rights abuse coming from Chechnya and Ingushetia," head of the Chechen National Rescue Committee Ruslan Badalov said.

The embassy will guarantee that the Rustavi 2 journalists detained in Beslan will come to an interrogation at the first instance of investigators in case the Russian authorities set them free.

On the night of September 5, a private house was completely destroyed as a result of an explosion in the village of Chechen-Aul. Investigators have established the happening was caused by mortar fire.

Speakers demanded that republican authorities, in particular President of the Republic of North Osetia - Alania Aleksandr Dzasokhov, should resign.

Ilkham Aliyev issued two decrees on September 3. By one of them he granted a pardon to Alikram Gumbatov, the leader of the self-proclaimed Talish-Mugan Republic who led a revolt in the south of Azerbaijan and was sentenced to life imprisonment then. By the other decree the President revoked Gumbatov's Azerbaijan citizenship.

According to information spread by the Regional Operations Headquarters on September 4, Maskhadov, Basayev and other field commanders planned to commit terror attacks against their close relatives and then put the blame on Russian servicemen.

Approximately 340 wounded people have been taken to hospitals in Beslan and Vladikavkaz after the storm of the school captured by rebels in Beslan, reported the North Osetian Health Minister.

A group of gunmen in masks and camouflage uniforms broke into the house on Kochubeya Street and took Fatima Gaziyeva and her husband away in an unknown direction without any explanations.

The Human Rights Protection Department of the Institute of Peace and Democracy is deeply concerned with the situation around the witnesses who refused from their testimonies and declared about the tortures.

We call your attention to the statement issued by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) on September 2, 2004.

So far the rebels have rejected suggestions to provide the hostages with water, food and medicines and exchange a group of hostages.

About 400 students, parents, and teachers are reported to be among the hostages in the school captured by rebels in North Osetia.