Hozkigina hostage crisis

Hozkigina hostage crisis
Location	200 Hozkigina Av. Keszanetaa, Rskz.
Date	19 April - 24 April, 1950
Target	Avarganý Hotel
Type	Hostage incident
Deaths	26
Nonfatal injuries	111
Pepetrators	Eporisya Malosom za Tuszkeya
Motive	Anti-Tuszkean extremism

The Hozkigina hostage crisis began on 19 April, 1950, when armed gunmen from the radical group Eporisya Malosom za Tuszkeya stormed the three-story Avarganý Hotel in downtown Keszanetaa. 217 people were taken hostage by the group, which demanded the release of several high-ranking Impurists. When provincial authorities and federal troops refused to release the demanded prisoners, a prolonged four-day standoff occurred. Most of Keszanetaa's downtown was subsequently cordoned off, and military troops were called in to aid in the eventual plans to rescue the hostages.

During the course of the standoff, 39 hostages deemed unimportant were released by the Impurists in an attempt to facilitate negotiations. The ploy failed, however, and on the fifth day, 24 April, a disagreement between several provincial authorities and one of the hostage-takers spiraled into a shootout that resulted in the hotel being stormed by police and military forces. In the hour long shootout, 16 hostages were killed, along with 3 police officers and all 7 hostage takers. Another 70 hostages were injured either in collateral damage incidents or in attempts to execute hostages, as were 32 police officers and 9 members of the military. The final death toll was 26, with 111 wounded, making the incident one of the worst hostage-taking crises in the history of the Kryfona Kingdom.

Prelude

By the time the Hozkigina hostage crisis took place, the Eporisya Malosom za Tuszkeya had already commenced a significant campaign against both the government of Tuszke and the Tuszkean population as a whole. The so called "Operation Firestorm," which was in essence an effort by the Eporisya Malosom to erode faith in the government and bring them to the negotiating table, was in its sixth month. Smaller hostage crises in other parts of Keszanetaa had already been observed in the weeks leading up to the events at Hozkigina, but their connection to the larger hostage crisis would not become apparent until well after Hozkigina.

Six days before the crisis began, members of the Agency of Central Intelligence intercepted communications from high ranking officials of the Eporisya Malosom za Tuszkeya, including what was reported to head of the Agency Tysmari Melgej as "indications of a ... plan to attack offices in Kezanetaa [sic]." Although intercepted and forwarded to local agencies and the federal government by Melgej, there is no indication that any actions were taken by any party which received the information. In fact, as found by a commission in the aftermath of the crisis, the federal government and in particular Tyeri Awaseq seemed to think the information was a decoy and that there would be no attack at all. After all, it was almost an open secret that intelligence was monitoring the Eporisya Malosom and its communications (particularly the Tuszkean branch of the organization), and the Tuszkean branch seemed far too busy committing bombings than preparing to storm buildings.