16 October 2009 / REUTERS, CHISINAU
A grenade exploded at a crowded concert in the main square of the Moldovan capital of Chisinau late on Wednesday, hurting at least 40 people, security officials said on Thursday.
State security officials said the grenade had apparently been left in a box and exploded as the Russian pop group Bravo brought the concert to its climax. Interior Minister Victor Catan, who confirmed the explosion was caused by a military grenade, told journalists that the explosion was the work either of "representatives of a terrorist group or criminal groups from abroad." A criminal investigation was opened on the basis of "terrorism with the aim of intimidating the population," an interior ministry official said. Ex-Soviet Moldova, Europe's poorest country wedged between Ukraine and Romania with a population of 4.5 million, is in the grip of political instability since the powerful communists were defeated in a July election by a pro-Western coalition committed to European integration. Though a government has been formed, a president still has to be elected by parliament. An Oct. 23 date has been set for this election but a stalemate between the coalition and the opposition communists means this will not be straightforward.
