MOSCOW, Oct 23: Around 20 gunmen declaring themselves to be Chechens took hundreds of people hostage in a Moscow theatre on Wednesday and threatened to blow up the building if Russian forces try to storm the premises.

The gunmen are demanding “an end to the war”, according to a freed hostage, apparently a reference to the conflict in Chechnya that has raged for more than three years, Interfax said.

It was unclear exactly how many hostages were in the theatre, but one of the musical’s producers, Alexander Tsikalo, told Channel One television that it “could be up to a thousand”.

Hostages inside the theatre who managed to contact police by telephone said the hostage takers had begun placing bombs in the building and that they “looked like men from the Caucasus”, said ITAR-TASS.

Witnesses said all the gunmen have explosives strapped to their bodies.

A journalist for Interfax reported from inside the theatre that the gunmen used the mobile phones of hostages to warn security forces not to launch an assault.

ITAR-TASS quoted witnesses as saying that the gunmen told the audience that they were Chechens. The assailants also threatened to kill ten hostages for every one of their number who died, Moscow Echo radio reported quoting informed sources.—AFP