Russian tragedy

Relatives of those lost and survivors of the tragedy were among those who gathered Tuesday, with flowers and toys in hand, at the gymnasium of School Number One in Beslan, where 32 heavily armed militants took more than 1,000 people hostage for three days without food or water. The gunmen had been demanding an end to the war in Chechnya being fought between Russian forces and Chechen separatists.

The memorial service began with the tolling of the school bell at 9:15 a.m., the time at which the militants stormed the facility.

A prayer service was held, and North Ossetian leader Taymuraz Mamsurov, whose two children survived the tragedy, laid flowers at the site. A vigil will continue to be held for three days and nights by an organization representing the victims of the siege.

After the standoff had reached its third day an explosion went off inside the school triggering a gun battle between Russian special forces who had been camped outside and the gunmen, most of whom were Chechen. The firefight ended in the deaths of nearly a third of the hostages inside the hall. The event is considered Russia's worst terrorist attack.

Lingering pain

In the months and years that have followed many observers have come to blame the Russian forces for using heavy weapons in an attempt to overpower the hostage takers.

Survivors and relatives of those who perished in the bloodbath said Tuesday they have yet to see any progress on a fair investigation into the tragedy.

"Five years ago, after Beslan, we thought that the world had to change," Valentina Ostaniy, who was at the besieged school with her son and nephew, told Deutsche Welle.

"Five years later we see that nothing has changed. We are still afraid to send our children off to school because terror acts, which have become yet more horrific and devious, take place in the northern Caucasus every day."

Taymuraz Mamsurov, the North Ossetian leader, said: "As long as there is no trial … everyone is allowed their own version of the events, but no one has the right to the truth."

Following the incident, the Kremlin sought to tighten its grip on power in a bid to bring more security to the region. But the tactic has not lasted, and the North Caucasus has recently seen an upsurge in suicide bombings and militant attacks.

According to a tally by news agency AFP, bomb attacks and shootings this year have claimed the lives of at least 259 people in the region since June alone. Several prominent human rights activists and journalists have also gone missing and been found dead for attempting to investigate the regional conflict.

dfm/AFP/AP
Editor: Nancy Isenson