Posted on 04/11/2011 11:56:01 AM PDT by Bon mots
A rush-hour explosion at a subway station in the center of the Belarusian capital has reportedly killed at least seven people and injured dozens more.
The blast occurred at the Kastrychnitskaya (October Square) station in downtown Minsk, not far from President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's offices.
There was no immediate indication of whether the explosion was an accident or an attack.
A man who gave only his first name, Henadz, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service that he was unsure whether the explosion had struck a train or the platform.
Lukashenka has ordered an emergency meeting with officials later tonight.
'Pillars Of Fire'
An RFE/RL correspondent who was entering the subway when she heard the explosion, Valyantsina Aksak, reported seeing fire after the explosion and the subway station being pitched into darkness.
She said she saw "corpses" and people trying to help victims whose clothes were on fire.
See RFE/RL Belarus Service's live blog of authorities' and victims' responses to the blast. (Google translation here)
Aksak said there were many commuters at the station when the explosion hit, around 6 p.m. local time. She said there was general panic as people tried to figure out what had happened. "Those who were near the explosion rushed to the opposite exit and many of them were on fire," Aksak said. "I saw several people who were simply pillars of fire."
At least 12 fire engines and 10 ambulances were on the scene, according to RFE/RL's Russian Service.
State news agency Belta, quoting its own correspondent at the scene, initially confirmed that several people had been killed.
The original title says 7 killed, but the more up-to-date article in the Polish press has upped it to 8:
(for those of you who read Polish)
The Polish article goes on to say that it is confirmed as an act of terrorism, but they do not know who is responsible.
The correspondent expressed fears that it could be a ‘false-flag’ attack designed to enable the Lukashenko regime to crack down on any opposition - they wouldn’t want anything like what is happening in Egypt, Libya or elsewhere to take root, so this would be a perfect excuse to blame his opposition and round them up.
I did not know there were Amish in Belarus...
I did not know there were Amish in Belarus...
I did not know there were Amish in Belarus...
Chechens
I still can’t understand. Are these bombings political,
personal,religious,etc.?
being and old phart, I just don’t understand the reasoning.
Sooner or later...it’s gotta be Mecca and Medina.
Polish language news - Gazeta Wyborcza
Putin doing dirty work for Lukashenko? Would not surprise me.
STV Television (Belarus):
11 Killed
128 Injured
50 hospitalized, 11 of whom are in grave condition.
Nobody knows yet who or why.
The Polish correspondent floated the theory that this could have been done by the government so that they could blame the dissidents. Today was a meeting of dissident families in Minsk.
He also said that there are very few people from the Caucuses (Chechens) and no real likely suspects.
Lukashenko (their Dictator) could be behind it as an excuse to crack down on his opposition... a so called 'false-flag' attack - like when Hitler burned the Reichstag.
Hm. False flag warning coming from a NATO country. Let's see. Some 500 Belarus officers are military contractors in Libya and made ridicule out of NATO's close air support to Al Qaida terrorists.
Could it be that NATO delivered personal message to Luka? As article says, subway station was close to President's office.
Belarus has no Checken terrorists not other Amish on their territory. But has NATO as a neighbor.
NATO has no moral scruples when it comes to murdering innocent civilians for political gain. So, if it is indeed false flag, NATO can be suspicious like anyone else.
For NATO's links to terrorism in Europe google "GLADIO". Very disturbing stuff.
Come home to roost.
RIP.
What would the world do without bleeding heart lieberals
No#2 Democrat's statement came some 6 hours after the terrorist attack. Timing is everything
It is sickening. Senator, who was appointed by Dashole as Democratic whip should have heard about it because it was on all tickers. Since he sits on Defense subcommittee and European affairs subcommitee, he should know the implications.
Unless of course he was merely using terrorist attack as force multiplier effect for his message. Or is his message a calling card?
In the meantime, Lukasenko spoke about "gift" received from abroad. He did not lashed on imaginary enemy among opposition as implied by the Polish rag.
In NATO link is discovered, it will not be funny. Belarus has integrated defense with Russia.
Stay tuned.
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