Backgrounder:

At least 322, including 155 children, killed in Russian hostage crisis Putin vows harsher crackdown on terror after hostage crisis

 

Russian police officer Elbrus Gochichayev carrying hostage Alyona Tskayeva during the Beslan school siege (top) and Gochichayev talking to Tskayevato in the town of Beslan in the province of North Ossetia near Chechnya. Gochichayev was one of the policemen who was guarding the school when it was seized by Chechan rebels, and he helped to bring Tskayeva to safety. (Photo: Xinhua/REUTERS)

    BEIJING, Sep. 2 (Xinhuanet)-- Carrying candles, thousands of mourners gathered in Beslan on Thursday to commemorate the first anniversary of the terror attack at Beslan School No. 1 that claimed more than 300 lives.

    The bell rang at precisely 9:15 am (0515 GMT) and was followed by Mozart's Requiem played quietly at the site of the attack as hundreds of people, victims' families and others, gathered to lay flowers in the ruins of the school's gymnasium where most of the victims died.

    The crackle of the burning candles mingled with sobs of grief. Mournful opera arias were broadcast outside as people walked slowly along the gymnasium walls, adorned with portraits of the dead.

    Security was tight and streets in the area around the destroyed school were cordoned off by police while people were required to pass through metal detectors to enter the school grounds and walk outside the gymnasium.

    "Today, millions of people both here and abroad -- all who know about this terrible catastrophe and who have a heart -- of course remember this nightmare," said Russian President Vladimir Putin as he led a minute's since at the Kuban State Agriculture University.

    "Let you and I, too, refrain from saying words that are perhaps correct but superfluous, and simply be quiet for a few seconds. Let us remember the children, those who perished, who suffered at the hands of terrorists." he said. 

    Susanna Dudiyeva, whose son was killed, said Putin was unwelcome at the commemoration. " He is the guarantor of our freedom and our security and therefore, the responsibility (for Beslan) lies with the president first and foremost," she said.

    In the 12 months since the siege, two new schools have been built nearby to replace the devastated building. Work on a new sports center and hospital is also under way. Enditem

    (Agencies)

[1] [2] [3] [4]