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Gunmen give up themselves
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A hostage crisis staged by pro-Chechen gunmen in an Istanbul luxury hotel ended peacefully on Monday after hours of negotiations with Turkish Government officials.
The gunmen surrendered to police and freed all hostages unharmed, bringing to an end of the hostage crisis.
A total of 13 Chechen rebels were detained by police.
An official quoted rebel leader Muhammed Emin Tokcan, a Turkish citizen of Chechen origin, as saying that "we are not affiliated to any organization. We are sorry for causing a problem to Turkey which has economic problems. Some of our friends did not know we were to launch an action before hand."
The official told reporters that "the people in the hotel are wandering around freely. There is no problem there".
The rebels apologized to those they had abducted, but complained that the world had ignored what they termed the massacre of Chechens by Russia.
Chechnya before surrendering to Turkish police on Monday.
The incident, led in part by a man who hijacked a Russian ferry carrying 200 passengers off Turkey's Black Sea coast in 1996, drew fire from Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Monday urged Turkey to strengthen its anti-terrorism combat and ensure the security of Russian missions and citizens in Turkey.
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