SITREP NO. 31: TIANANMEN AT 0245 ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 15411 NIACT IMMEDIATE FOR CHINA WATCH NSC FOR DOUG PAAL E.O.12356:DECL:OADR TAGS: PGOV PHU SOCI CH SUBJECT: SITREP NO. 31: TIANANMEN AT 0245 ON - JUNE 4: GUNFIRE ON THE SQUARE, TWO APC'S - BURNING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SQUARE CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 BEIJIN 15411 01 OF 02 031821Z REF: BEIJING (##) ¶1. CONFIDENTIAL ENTIRE TEXT. ¶2. SUMMARY: AS OF 0145, ABC NEWS REPORTERS ON THE SQUARE REPORTED THE PRESENCE OF TROOPS AND RIOT POLICE ON THE SOUTHERN END OF TIANANMEN. TEAR GAS AND GUNFIRE WERE REPORTED ON THE SQUARE. EMBOFF SAW TRACERS BEING FIRED OVER THE SQUARE. ABC JOURNALISTS SAID THAT TWO ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS WERE ON FIRE AT THE NORTHEAST AND NORTHWEST CORNERS OF THE SQUARE. A BARRICADE NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF FUXINGMEN AND THE SECOND RING ROAD WAS BREACHED AS TROOPS ADVANCED ON THE SQUARE FROM THE WEST. AS OF 0250, THE SITUATION IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY WAS VERY CONFUSED. TROOPS APPEAR TO BE ATTEMPTING TO CLEAR THE SQUARE FROM WEST TO EAST. WE HAVE NO ACCURATE COUNT OF DEAD AND WOUNDED, BUT CASUALTIES NO DOUBT WILL BE HIGH (##) DEMONSTRATOR WHO LAID DOWN IN FRONT OF AN ADVANCING APC AND WAS RUN OVER. UNCONFIRMED ACCOUNTS CITE SEVENTY DEAD AND MANY WOUNDED. GIVEN THE AGGRESIVE PLA MOVES REPORTED BY ABC NEWS REPORTERS, WE EXPECT FINAL COUNTS OF DEAD AND INJURED TO BE VERY HIGH. END SUMMARY. ¶3. STUDENTS SET DEBRIS THROWN ATOP AT LEAST ONE ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER AND LIT THE DEBRIS, ACCORDING TO EMBOFF NEAR THE SCENE. ABC REPORTED THAT ONE OTHER ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER IS AFLAME. AT LEAST ONE BUS WAS ALSO BURNING, ACCORDING TO ABC NEWS REPORTERS ON THE SQUARE AT 0120. THE EYEWITNESSES REPORTED THAT TROOPS AND RIOT POLICE WERE ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE SQUARE AND TROOPS WERE MOVING TO THE SQUARE FROM THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CITY. THEY REPORTEDLY BROKE THROUGH A BARRICADE NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF FUXINGMEN AND THE SECOND RING ROAD. DEMONSTRATORS' BARRICADES HAVE SLOWED BUT NOT STOPPED THE TROOPS' ADVANCE. THERE HAS REPORTEDLY BEEN INDISCRIMINATE GUNFIRE BY THE TROOPS ON THE SQUARE. WE CAN HEAR GUNFIRE FROM THE EMBASSY AND JIANGUOMENWAI DIPLOMATIC COMPOUND. EYEWITNESSES REPORT TEAR GAS ON THE SQUARE, FLARES BEING FIRED ABOVE IT, AND TRACERS BEING FIRED OVER IT. ¶4. ACCORDING TO UNCONFIRMED REPORTS, SEVENTY HAVE BEEN KILLED AND LARGE NUMBERS WOUNDED. ANOTHER REPORT CITED NINE DEAD AND OVER ONE-HUNDRED WOUNDED AT THE FUXING HOSPITAL. THE CHILDRENS' HOSPITAL INDICATED THAT IT HAD 11 DEAD. WE HAVE A FIRM REPORT THAT AT LEAST ONE HAS DIED, HAVING BEEN RUN OVER BY AN APC. EYEWITNESSES SAID THAT AN APC MOVING TOWARD THE SQUARE FROM THE EAST CRASHED THROUGH A BARRICADE AND PLOWED RIGHT THROUGH A CROWD ON CHANGAN STREET. FINAL NUMBERS OF DEAD AND WOUNDED COULD BE VERY HIGH, BASED ON EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE ARMY'S ACTION THUS FAR. ¶5. THE SITUATION IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY IS VERY CONFUSED. POLOFFS AT THE BEIJING HOTEL REPORTED THAT TROOPS ARE PUSHING A LARGE CROWD OF DEMONSTRATORS EAST ON CHANGANJIE. ALTHOUGH THESE TROOPS APPEAR NOT TO BE FIRING ON THE CROWD, POLOFFS REPORT FIRING BEHIND THE TROOPS COMING FROM THE SQUARE. ¶6. A LARGE CONVOY OF MILITARY VEHICLES IS COMING TOWARD THE CITY FROM THE WESTERN SIDE OF BEIJING. ¶7. SOME UNITS HAVE NOT ADOPTED SUCH AGGRESIVE MOVES. AT 0124, AN EMBASSY SPOUSE SAW TROOPS AT THE JIANGUOMENWAI OVERPASS NEXT TO THE DIPLOMATIC HOUSING COMPOUND TALKING CALMLY WITH THE CITY RESIDENTS BLOCKING THEIR PATH. CONVERSELY, PANIC REPORTEDLY SET IN AMONG PEOPLE ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CITY WHERE THE VIOLENCE HAS BEEN WORST THUS FAR. LILLEY