Samashki massacre

The Samashki massacre (Russian: Резня в Самашках) was the mass murder of Chechen civilians by Russian Forces in April 1995 during the First Chechen War. Hundreds of Chechen civilians died as result of a Russian "cleansing operation" and the bombardment of the village. Most of the victims were shot at close range or killed by grenades thrown into basements where they were hiding. Others were burned alive or were shot while trying to escape their burning houses. Much of the village was destroyed and the local school blown up by Russian forces as they withdrew. The incident attracted wide attention in Russia and abroad.

The March 1996 United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) report said:

It is reported that a massacre of over 100 people, mainly civilians, occurred between 7 and 8 April 1995 in the village of Samashki, in the west of Chechnya. According to the accounts of 128 eye-witnesses, Federal soldiers deliberately and arbitrarily attacked civilians and civilian dwellings in Samashki by shooting residents and burning houses with flame-throwers. The majority of the witnesses reported that many OMON troops were drunk or under the influence of drugs. They wantonly opened fire or threw grenades into basements where residents, mostly women, elderly persons and children, had been hiding.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), this was the most notorious civilian massacre of the First Chechen War. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that approximately 250 civilians were killed. According to Amnesty International and HRW that up to 300 people were executed or killed, while the elders of Samashki stated that up to 300 residents were killed during the attack.