Tbilisi. 02.0909. GHN. On September 1 in Northern Ossetian town Beslan the memorial ceremonies will be organized to commemorate died people during the well known events of 2004 September 1. Five years ago exactly at 13:05 in a school the first bomb blasted.
Five years ago, Chechen militants took over the school in Beslan, North Ossetia. They held more than 1,000 hostages for three days before Russian forces stormed the building. Some 334 hostages - including 186 children - died.
On September 1 of 2004, during the festive gathering of children at the No 1 secondary School, at 09:30 several cars drove up to the building of the school. The cars were full of terrorists in masks and flack jackets. At the moment of getting out of cars they started gun fire to an air. About 50 children had a time to escape. The others were taken in a hostage. They were forced to enter the school building.

According to the official information terrorists took in hostage 354 people. But the eye witnesses said that the amount of them may exceed 1000 people. According to the FCB there were 20-25 terrorists among them several women, two of whom wearing the so called ‘Shakhid's belt'.

Terrorists blocked all exits from the school. A very long time they were not contacted for negotiations, and nobody knew what they demanded. After a while it became known that terrorists detained children in the sportive room. All others, teachers and parents were detained separately.

School garden was mined. They warned - as soon the order about of the storming of building will be given they will explode all mines and everything will be blasted. Terrorists put children at all windows of the school as a curtain. After the terrorists "took" all building and sorted out hostages, they threw up from the window the video film with a letter where its demands possibly were declared.

The video film was empty and the letter reads that terrorists in turn of release of children are demanding pulling out of Russian Army from Chechnya, and demanded the meeting with Alexander Zasoev, President of Northern Ossetia, with Murat Ziazikov and with Leonid Roshal, Director of Children's Emergency Surgery Center. It must to be noted that namely this surgeon had held the negotiations with militants in 2002, when in Dubrovka in the Theatrical center they took the hostages.

Moreover terrorists were demanding to release militants who were detained in Ingushetia for armed attack to the strategic objects on the same year on June 22.

Terrorists as well declared that to the each died terrorist they will kill 50 hostages; to the each wounded terrorist they will kill 20 hostages. From the bunker of the school it appears possible to take 15 people who hide there during the attack at the school.

On September 1 at 16:00 in the school building something was blasted but what happen nobody knows. At about 20:00 terrorists contacted to the headquarters asking the water and some food.

On September 1 Leonid Roshal arrived to Beslan to negotiate with terrorists. Negotiations appeared unsuccessful. It appears as well impossible to deliver to the school food and drink. Terrorists were afraid of a food poisoned by psychotropic substances...
Terrorists released first part of the hostages at the next day - 26 people. This happen thanks to the mediation of Ruslan Aushev, former President of Ingushetia. Vladimir Putin at least made a first comment about the events. "Our main task at this time is to save the life of hostages, "- Vladimir Putin said. But in fact all Russian Army and Air Forces were delivered to Beslan. This information was approved by Vladimir Mikhailov, General of Russian Air Forces. At the same time the border with Georgia was closed.

At the next day on September 2 after the militants refused to take a food and water, and to go out to Chechnya with the corridor. Relatives of the hostages addressed to Putin asking him to satisfy demands of the terrorists to save its children. At the third day on September 3 the negotiations with militants were unsuccessful again.

At the same day Lev Zugaev, head of the Press Service of the President of Northern Ossetia declared that the storming of the school will not be started until there is the possibility to negotiate and to save hostages. This declaration was disseminated at 01:30 ...
This day nobody expected that the storm will be started in the city. It was unusually still and quiet day. They say that the hope for negotiation aroused, but...
At 13:05 at the school's building the blast and shooting started. The storming of the building started...Everything was messed up. From the school women and children were running away all bloody. In the city the confrontation between ingushes and ossetians started. Militants started to shoot the corridor from were the hostages were running.
The badly organized operation victimized 334 people. More than 700 wounded. At the end of the day it was rained...

GHN
Eka Momzemlidze