RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN POLICE HOLD JOINT HOSTAGE RESCUE EXERCISES

RIA Novosti news agency
17 Apr 09
Moscow

Yerevan, 17 April: In Yerevan today, special units of the Russian
Interior Ministry and the Armenian police have practised actions to
detain gunmen who have seized hostages. Russian Interior Minister
Rashid Nurgaliyev and head of the Armenian police Alik Sargsyan
oversaw the exercises.

According to the scenario, Armenia’s law-enforcement bodies
receive information about planned acts of terror in Yerevan. The
Armenian police asks the Russian Interior Ministry to help carry out
counterterrorism operations. A few days later, gunmen, according to
the scenario, force their way into the Armenian police academy and
take police cadets hostage. The gunmen demand an aircraft and vehicles.

During talks, several hostages manage to leave the academy building,
and later an operation begins to detain the terrorists and free the
police cadets in the academy building. Five gunmen were "killed",
ten others were detained and all hostages were freed.

More than 300 men of the special forces of the two countries were
involved in the exercises. Thirteen vehicles, including a combat
helicopter and a Tigr armoured police vehicle, were used.

Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev was pleased with the
exercises.

"In building a new security architecture for the member-states of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization, training personnel is
a very important aspect for us," he said.

The minister said that a real situation, which could emerge in any
country and any time, had been practised at the Armenian police
academy.

"The function of freeing hostages is the responsibility of the special
forces in all our countries, and today we had the opportunity to
practise cooperation and to exchange experience," Nurgaliyev said.

These are not the first joint counterterrorism exercises in the CIS,
and similar events will be held regularly, he said.

The head of Armenia’s police supported his Russian counterpart and
told reporters that such exercises should be held as often as possible.

"As the saying goes, it is difficult in training, but easy in battle;
such exercises give us the possibility to act quickly and to fight
crime more effectively," he said.