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The Beslan massacre, 10 years on

The deadliest terror attack in modern Russia’s history led to the deaths of 334 hostages, more than half children.

The hostages spent three days at the school's gymnasium in oppressive heat and without water. Today, that gym has become a grim memorial to the dead. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
By Nikolay Korzhov and Andrey Kovalenko
Published On 1 Sep 2014

Beslan, Russia – On the morning of September 1, 2004, teachers, students and their families gathered in front of School Number One in the town of Beslan to celebrate the start of the new school year.

First they heard gunfire, and then saw a group of armed men forcing people into the school building.

The Beslan hostage crisis turned out to be the deadliest terror attack in modern Russia’s history. The rebels took approximately 1,200 children and adults hostage at the school, without providing food or water for three days. On the first day, they executed a man in front of his two children and the other hostages. Later they took a group of men at gunpoint in a classroom on the first floor, shot them and threw their bodies out of the window.

The attackers – members of a Chechen separatist group called Riyad as-Saliheen Martyrs’ Brigade – demanded the recognition of Chechnya’s independence from Russia and the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the region. On September 2, the hostage-takers agreed to negotiate with Ruslan Aushev, the former president of the adjacent republic of Ingushetia, allowing him to enter the school and release 26 hostages.

On the third day of the standoff, local authorities received permission from the attackers to remove bodies lying in front of the school. But when medical workers approached the building, two of them were shot dead, followed by two explosions 20 seconds later.

The explosions caused the roof of the gym to collapse, killing many. After the first blast, hostages began to run out of the school, and Russian special forces stormed the building trying to rescue the rest.

The siege ended with 334 hostages dead, more than half of whom were children. The only attacker caught alive was sentenced to life in prison.

September 1 is the tenth anniversary of the massacre, which killed more children than any other terrorist attack in history. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
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People bring bottles of water, flowers and toys to commemorate the children who died during the siege. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
The rescue operation started on the third day of the crisis. Twelve Russian special forces officers died while attempting to rescue the hostages. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
The walls of the gym are covered with handwritten verses and poems. A large wooden Orthodox cross is in the middle of the hall. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
Despite the ban on walking through the building's ruins, notes in memory of the dead are scribbled on the walls of the school.
Seventeen-year-old Zalina Amirkhanova agreed to return to the school for the first time since the siege. She remembers that "everything was on fire". "I panicked, but didn’t realise that we all could die. When I was running out of the building, I saw many injured and dead bodies everywhere," she said. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
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The school's empty corridors are riddled with bullet holes. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
Dzampaeva Marina, 17, lost her mother during the tragedy. "No one tells me how exactly she died. We were separated, and then I heard the first explosion. I was too young to remember all the details. I was in the hospital for a month being treated for shrapnel wounds when they told me that mom died," she said. "Everyone says that I look like her. She took great care of me and my sister." [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
Nadezhda Gurieva, 54, holds the school uniform that belonged to her younger daughter. Nadezhda was at the school with her three children, two of whom died. "What happened there can never be forgotten," she said. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
The cemetery where hostages are buried is known as the City of Angels. Some families lost five or six of their relatives in the massacre. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]
The monument to the special forces officers killed during the rescue operation. [Andrei Kovalenko/Al Jazeera]