Police failed to prevent Beslan school siege of Sept 1, 2004

Moscow, Dec 22 (UNI) North Ossetian police did not take appropriate measures to prevent the terrorist attack on a school in the southern Russian town of Beslan in September 2004, the chairman of the parliamentary investigation commission, Alexander Torshin said while presenting the report to the Federal Council (upper house) today.

''The terrorist act was not prevented because local police did not follow the regulations established by the Russian Interior Ministry,'' Mr Torshin said.

The hostage crisis at Beslan's school in the North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia had claimed 331 lives, including 186 children. More than 700 people were injured.

The 31 terrorists who seized the school were killed. Only on-- Nurpashi Kulayev, who was given a life sentence, is still alive.

The report said police officers were not present at the school's 'start-of-term' ceremony on September 1, 2004, when terrorists took 1,128 hostages.

North Ossetian law enforcement agencies had 12 hours to put its staff on red alert and to protect the schools in the republic from terrorist attacks, the report said.

A telegram demanding urgent measures be taken to protect schools from possible terrorist attacks on September 1 had been sent to all law enforcement agencies in the Southern Federal District at 1800hrs (local time) on August 31, 2004.

''The authorities of the North Ossetian Interior Ministry did not profit from the opportunity and together with the Ingush Interior Ministry failed to take measures to guarantee public security,'' Mr Torshin said.

He said the investigation commission found that terrorists, not special forces were to blame for the first explosion during the Beslan school siege.

''The commission has officially established that the explosion was caused by the actions of terrorists, based on numerous examinations and testimonies of former hostages,'' he noted.

He added that, according to the report, the operation headquarters set up when the siege began acted within the law, and took all possible measures to save lives.

The report also blamed Chechen warlords Aslan Maskhadov, Shamil Basayev and Abu-Dzeit for orchestrating the terrorist attack.

''Just punishment was dealt to all organizers and participants of the Beslan terrorist attack. The odious ringleaders of the terrorist underground who planned this act - Maskhadov and Basayev, Abu-Dzeit and Khashiyev - have been liquidated,'' Mr Torshin said.

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