Grozny ballistic missile attack The Grozny ballistic missile attack was a wave of Russia n ballistic missile strikes on the Chechen [ [ Capital capital Grozny on October 21 , 1999 , early in the [ [ Second Chechen War ] ] . The attack killed at least 118 people according to initial reports , mostly civilians , or at least 137 immediate dead according to the [ [ HALO Trust ] ] count . Hundreds of people were also injured , many of them later died . The attack . The first reports from the region suspected the use of [ [ Scud ] ] missiles ( SS - 1 ) . The [ [ hypersonic ] ] missiles , ten in number according to Chechen officials ( other sources reported less ) , fell without warning , as the Chechen [ [ air defense ] ] system was destroyed in the earlier Russian air strikes . The explosions occurred at around 1815 hours in several areas of the capital , mostly in the downtown area and including the crowded , central outdoor [ [ marketplace ] ] . Two of the missiles exploded outside the city ' s only functioning [ [ maternity ] ] hospital , which was located near [ [ Aslan Maskhadov ] ] ' s [ [ presidential palace ] ] building ( the palace itself was not damaged in the attack ) , and near the city ' s main post office . Another missile hit the mosque in the village of Kalinina , a suburb of Grozny . According to official Chechen sources , about 30 – 35 people died at the hospital ; a correspondent for the AFP counted 27 bodies , most of them women and newborn babies . Most of the casualties from the post office strike seemed to have been people waiting for [ [ public transport ] ] outside the building , as several [ [ bus ] ] es were at the stop at the moment of the explosion . In the Kalinina mosque , some 41 people who had gathered for evening prayer were said to have been killed . Most of the casualties occurred at the central market , which was filled with hundreds of shoppers at the time of the attack . The victims were not limited to Chechens , but included also many ethnic Russians and others . A rain of large ball - shaped [ [ Shrapnel shell | shrapnel ] ] from the [ [ cluster munition ] ] [ [ airburst ] ] s showered the market , nearby streets , and open - air cafés , with each blast affecting a large area . According to an investigation by Human Rights Watch , the first explosion hit a building about northeast of the bazaar at the corner of the city ' s main Prospekt Svobody and Mira streets , and adjacent to a city bus caught in traffic . However , most of the marketplace deaths came from the second and third explosions , which occurred within 100 yards of each other in the central [ [ bazaar ] ] area , " near the flowers and [ [ confection ] ] ery stalls . " According to the [ [ Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty ] ] correspondent [ [ Andrei Babitsky ] ] , the worst hit area was the so - called " [ [ kolkhoz ] ] " sector of the market , located near the building of the Chechen military [ [ headquarters ] ] . Reuters reporter Maria Eismont counted at least 90 bodies on the scene , while the local AFP correspondent said he witnessed 17 corpses recovered from the market . Some time afterwards , another missile fell about 200 meters from the bazaar , claiming the life of [ [ Supian Ependiyev ] ] , the first journalist to be killed while covering the Second Chechen War . Aftermath . Many of the blasts ' victims were brought to the central Grozny hospital , where doctors operated without electricity . Some of the hundreds of injured , about 100 of them in a [ [ Medical state | critical state ] ] , were immediately [ [ emergency evacuation | evacuated ] ] across the [ [ border ] ] to the neighboring republic of Ingushetia that same night . Others were taken across one or two days later , and ambulances faced lengthy delays at [ [ roadblock ] ] s when the Russian troops attempted to seal the border . The attacks unleashed widespread panic in Grozny and a new wave of thousands of refugees headed for Ingushetia . More than 177 , 000 refugees had already fled the fighting . Russia closed the border ; one of the refugee convoys from Grozny [ [ Baku - Rostov highway bombing | was bombed ] ] after being turned back . The city ' s streets were reported to be largely empty after the attack , as those residents who had not yet fled were too scared to venture outside . Two weeks later , Chechen separatist officials gave an updated [ [ death toll ] ] of more than 280 people . There were further reports of tactical missiles being used on Grozny as the Russian ground forces be [ [ siege ] ] d and shelled the city . For example , in an attack on October 27 – 28 , the homes of field commanders [ [ Shamil Basayev ] ] and [ [ Arbi Barayev ] ] and of the former acting president [ [ Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev ] ] were destroyed , as were numerous civilian buildings ( at least five multi - flat houses , one five - storied apartment building and many smaller houses ) and a busy taxi parking . Basayev himself said that he had created a special unit of [ [ suicide attack | suicide fighters ] ] to carry out " acts of sabotage " in retaliation for the market attack . Basayev and the formation , named [ [ Riyad - us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs | Riyadus - Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs ] ] , took responsibility for a series of suicide bombing and mass hostage taking incidents over the next five years , culminating in the disastrous [ [ Beslan school hostage crisis ] ] in September 2004 that claimed more than 300 victims . Responsibility for the attack and the question of its legality . The attack was met with an official [ [ denial ] ] on the part of the Russian authorities , who insisted that no civilians died in the blasts and provided a number of widely varying and conflicting alternative explanations . Despite an early admission by Aleksandr Veklich , a Russian military spokesman in the region , that the market ( Russian officials typically characterised the marketplace as " an ammunition market " and " terrorist headquarters " ) was destroyed in a " special operation in which no artillery or aircraft were involved " , Russian prime minister [ [ Vladimir Putin ] ] claimed that the explosions were the results of a " clash between gangs " and denied information that the Russian forces were involved in any way in the events in Grozny . In this version , Putin was joined by the army general Vladislav Putilin , who was quoted as saying that " the military forces have nothing to do with that affair " . Another official , the chief of the Center of Public Relations of the FSB , Aleksandr Zdanovitch , alleged a self - explosion of the ammunition stored there " because the terrorists thought there would be no air or artillery strikes at the place of large concentrations of people " . In another conflicting version , provided by the First Deputy Chief of the [ [ General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation | Russian General Staff of the Armed Forces ] ] , General Valery Manilov spoke about " a rapid special operation , independent of the regular armed forces " that " resulted in a conflict between two large bandit groups which had been enemies for a long time " . This confrontation supposedly led to an accidental explosion of " one large [ [ ammunition depot ] ] " during the alleged fighting in that area . Later , some Russian officials actually suggested " a terrorist act prepared by the terrorists themselves " and the press office of the Russian Defense Ministry even called anyone who blamed Russia for the massacre " a liar " , accusing the reporters at the scene of " misleading international public opinion " . According to a report by the Russian human rights organization [ [ Memorial ( society ) | Memorial ] ] who had analyzed the television footage of the aftermath , an explosion of " one or several compact powerful explosive mechanisms " at ground level in this case is out of the question , as all the vertical elements in the rows of stalls remained standing , while the horizontal ones ( tents and overhead covers ) were destroyed and broken . In addition , those who were not protected by overhead cover received multiple [ [ Fragmentation ( weaponry ) | fragmentation ] ] wounds , and the foreground showed the characteristic traces of cassette ( cluster ) ammunition of so - called " ball bombs " ( munitions used in the " Tochka " missile [ [ warhead ] ] s and intended for destruction of non - protected live forces in large areas ) . Finally , apparent fragments of " enormous " ground - to - ground missiles and cluster sub - munition canisters were found at the scene ( as reported by Babitsky ) . There were also reports in the Russian media on the use of cassette tactical missiles against " terrorists " in Chechnya earlier that month , which were corroborated by the refugees . [ [ The Pentagon ] ] has reportedly tracked dozens of Russian short - range ballistic - missile attacks on Chechnya since September 30 , 1999 . " The mosque and the maternity home , about which the Russian officials have chosen to keep silent , are undoubtedly civil objects , the attack of which is explicitly prohibited , " Memorial added . According to Human Rights Watch , the possibility of arms merchants or military installations in the bazaar did not justify " the tremendous amount of force " used against the market in a strike which may have been illegal . In its report titled " Evidence of [ [ war crime | War Crimes ] ] in Chechnya " , the watchdog concluded : " Although there is some evidence that there may have been legitimate military targets located near or within the Grozny bazaar , the size and extent of the blasts , combined with the large number of [ [ noncombatant ] ] s in the immediate vicinity , strongly suggests that the Russian attack was grossly disproportionate . If Chechen commander Shamil Basayev did indeed situate his headquarters within the Grozny market , that too would be a serious abuse of international law . Although Chechen fighters are not parties to the [ [ Geneva Conventions ] ] , as individuals within the territory of a state party [ Russia ] , they are bound to respect the basic precept of civilian immunity . Human Rights Watch calls upon Chechen commanders to immediately redeploy their troops , headquarters , and weapons storage facilities out of populated areas . " According to the HALO Trust , " Grozny market . . . is a great sprawling area of wooden stalls laid out each morning and packed away in the evenings . It is the equivalent of all your department stores rolled into one . Thus you can buy fresh bread , a TV set , a wedding dress , a bag of nails , and an [ [ AK - 47 ] ] in one open area the size of a couple of sports fields . Each section is clearly marked and the area where weapons are sold is very small and set right against the edge . The center of destruction was some 150m away from the area set aside for selling weapons . It was right over the clothes and food section . With the use of such munitions in such an area it was impossible not to have foreseen massive [ [ collateral damage ] ] . A study by the [ [ Foreign Military Studies Office ] ] evaluated : " In a surprising and threatening move , the federal forces relied heavily on [ [ fuel - air explosive ] ] s and tactical missiles ( SCUD and SCARAB ) . ( . . . ) Such strikes were designed for maximum psychological pressure — to demonstrate the hopelessness of further resistance against a foe that could strike with impunity and that was invulnerable to countermeasures . " Major General [ [ Vladimir Shamanov ] ] , Russia ' s commander in Chechnya , said the decision to attack was made at the highest level ( " the very top " and " the highest chief " ) , meaning at least knowledge by Vladimir Putin and [ [ Boris Yeltsin | President Yeltsin ] ] . The same opinion was voiced by the president of Ingushetia , [ [ Ruslan Aushev ] ] . According to Aushev , a retired [ [ Red Army ] ] general and a veteran of the [ [ Soviet war in Afghanistan ] ] , in all probability the missiles had been fired from the base of the [ [ 58th Army ] ] near the village of Tarskoye in North Ossetia . World reaction . The [ [ President of the European Parliament ] ] , [ [ Lord Russell - Johnston ] ] , expressed shock at the death toll and accused the Russian government of human rights violations and lawbreaking . The [ [ President of the European Union ] ] , [ [ Paavo Lipponen ] ] of Finland , said the group was " deeply worried about the deteriorating situation " in Chechnya . [ [ Chancellor of Germany ( Federal Republic ) | Chancellor of Germany ] ] , [ [ Gerhard Schröder ] ] condemned the " massacre on the Grozny marketplace , " and German politicians urged [ [ International sanctions | sanctions ] ] against Russia . European leaders also demanded Putin put forward a plan to end the war in Chechnya . [ [ United States of America | United States ] ] The White House spokesman [ [ Joe Lockhart ] ] said that there were " conflicting reports and statements " about the blasts , but " what ' s clear is that there ' s a tragic situation there with terrible loss of life . " U . S . Secretary of State [ [ Madeleine Albright ] ] called the incident " deplorable and ominous " and said that the Russians should have learnt in their [ [ First Chechen War | previous war in Chechnya ] ] that " this kind of violence is not a solution " . Amnesty International declared that " even assuming that these weapons [ being sold at several stalls in one corner of the market ] were indeed the target of the attack , the use by Russian forces of [ [ high explosive ] ] weapons in a market place crowded with civilians suggests that this attack may have been indiscriminate within the meaning of Article 51 of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions , to which the Russian Federation is a party , and therefore a grave breach of this Protocol . " Regarding this and other incidents of civilian casualties in Chechnya , the organization called on Russia to : comply with the provisions of international humanitarian law prohibiting indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects , and should therefore immediately desist from carrying out any such attacks in the context of its military offensive in Chechnya [ and ] take sufficient precautions to protect civilians . In addition to selecting and vetting targets for their genuine military significance , it should give civilians effective advance warning of its attacks - " unless circumstances do not permit " - in compliance with international humanitarian law . Other rules require specific precautions to be taken when launching attacks , including desisting from an attack if it becomes apparent that the objective is not a military one , or the attack risks being disproportionate to the military objective . ( . . . ) The Russian authorities should hold comprehensive and impartial investigations into alleged abuses of international humanitarian law such as direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects , including hospitals and medical vehicles , which have been reported to have occurred in the course of their military offensive in Chechnya . The government should bring all military and government officials responsible for such violations to justice . The Russian government should grant immediately safe access to Chechnya to a team of international investigators to conduct independent investigation into allegations of violations of international humanitarian law , to establish the truth and to identify those responsible . The [ [ Committee to Protect Journalists ] ] protested the death of Supian Ependiyev in an open letter to President Yeltsin , while Human Rights Watch said the assault " may have been a serious violation of the [ [ laws of war ] ] " and urged the Russian authorities to vigorously investigate the incident and publish their findings . External links . [ [ Category : Conflicts in 1999 ] ] [ [ Category : 1999 in Russia ] ] [ [ Category : Attacks on marketplaces ] ] [ [ Category : Cluster bomb attacks ] ] [ [ Category : History of Grozny | Ballistic ] ] [ [ Category : Massacres in Russia ] ] [ [ Category : Mass murder in Russia ] ] [ [ Category : Mass murder in 1999 ] ]