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Russia Mourns Moscow Terror Victims

   VOA News 30 March 2010
   A  woman  grieves  near  the  flower  tributes placed in memory of the
   subway blasts' victims at the Park Kultury subway station

Photo: AP

   A  woman  grieves  near  the  flower  tributes placed in memory of the
   subway  blasts'  victims  at the Park Kultury (Park of Culture) subway
   station, which was earlier hit by an explosion, 29 Mar 2010

   Russia is holding an official day of mourning for the 39 people killed
   in Monday's twin suicide bombings on Moscow's metro system.
   Scores of others were severely wounded when two female suicide bombers
   set off explosions at the height of the morning rush hour.
   National  flags  will  be  flying half-staff in the Russian capital on
   Tuesday.  Television shows and other forms of entertainment have also
   been canceled.
   Russian President Dimtri Medvedev visited the Lubyanka station Monday,
   where  the  first  explosion  took  place,  and  laid  flowers  on the
   platform.   He  referred to those responsible as "beasts" who will be
   destroyed.
   Prime  Minister  Vladimir  Putin,  who cut short a visit to Siberia to
   return to Moscow, said everything will be done to find and punish "the
   criminals."
   There  has  been no claim of responsibility.  But Russian authorities
   blamed  Muslim  militants  from  the  Northern  Caucasus region, which
   includes Chechnya.
   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama, in a telephone call, told Mr. Medvedev
   that  the United States is "ready to cooperate with Russia to bring to
   justice those who undertook this attack."
   Statements  of  outrage  and condolences have poured in to Moscow from
   world  leaders.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her "shock
   and  horror"  over  the  bombings  --  while  French President Nicolas
   Sarkozy  likened them to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United
   States. Â
   U.N.   Secretary-General  Ban  Ki-moon  said  he is confident Russian
   authorities  will bring to justice the perpetrators of what he decried
   as "this heinous terrorist attack."
   Monday's bombings are the first in the Russian capital in six years.
   Last  month Doku Umarov, a top Chechen rebel leader, vowed to take the
   battle for Chechyna's independence to Russia's cities.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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