The 1995 Shali cluster bomb attack was an attack which occurred on 3 January 1995, when Russian

fighter jets Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the air ...

bombed the Chechen town of Shali with

cluster bomb A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...

Events

Eighteen cluster bombs were reportedly dropped in and around Shali on that day in several runs. The bombs hit a roadside market first, followed by a gas station, and a hospital, in which civilians, as well as Russian prisoners of war, were being treated. The aircraft then went on to strafe a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

cemetery. A school and a

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...

were also targeted.Cluster Munitions Use by Russian Federation Forces in Chechnya
,

Mennonite Central Committee The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are located in Akron, Pennsylvania; the Canadian headquarte ...

, 2000 At least 55 people were killed (including five medical workers) and 186 people were wounded. An estimate by the Russian presidential

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

office put the number of killed at over 100. No military targets were reported in the area at the time of the attack.

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

's office announced a halt to air raids on Grozny, but the statement did not rule out the use of heavy artillery, which caused damage to civilian targets. The military's tactics raised concerns over civilian casualties, causing protests in Russia and drawing criticism from Western governments.

References

External links

Czeczenka opowiedziała straszną historię
'' Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat'', September 17, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shali cluster bomb attack 1995 disasters in Russia Attacks on hospitals during the Chechen–Russian conflict Cluster bomb attacks Mass murder in 1995 20th-century mass murder in Russia Russian war crimes in Chechnya War crimes of the First Chechen War Wartime hospital bombings in Europe 1995 building bombings Marketplace attacks in Russia School bombings in Russia Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Russia Cemetery vandalism and desecration Attacks on schools in 1995 Attacks on agricultural buildings