THE BESLAN SCHOOL SIEGE

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THE BESLAN SCHOOL SIEGE

• September 2004
• Beslan, north ossetia

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Where is beslan?
Beslan is situated in southern russia in a region
known as north ossetia. It borders with chechnya.
A war-stricken region controlled by russia. For
over 10 years, chechyn rebel fighters have been
fighting russian troops and have carried out
various terrorist attacks on russia.
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When did it happen?
On September 1st 2004, it was the opening day at
School number 1 in Beslan and parents,
Grandparents , brothers, sisters, uncles and
aunts were taking their children to see the
opening day celebrations going on in the building
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what happened
During the school celebrations in school number
one, Chechen terrorists disguised in masks burst
into the building and ordered everyone to go into
the newly built gym. As well as around 900
children being held, there were also teachers,
parents, younger siblings and other family
bringing the total number of hostages to around
1,300. For three days the terrorists refused to
give food or drink to the hostages. The police
and army were soon called to the scene but were
stuck outside the building. Keeping watch armed
with weapons.
Shamil Basayev, the Chechen leader behind the
siege.
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What was it like inside the school?
Hundreds of people were being held inside the
gymnasium with a few children being held in the
boiler room. The terrorists had explosives
strapped to their belts and had pre-fitted
explosives on the roof and underneath the floor
when they were pretending to be builders during
the summer holidays. The hostages were refused
food or water and when the asked, were told to
take of their clothes and hand them over. The
Chechens then soaked the clothes in dirty water
and told the children to suck them. From the 1st
September to the 4th the hostages were held like
this and must have been absolutely terrified.
Distraught parents were kept outside.
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Then what happened?
After hearing a number of explosions coming from
the school, the Russian special army made a hole
in the wall of the gym for the hostages to escape
and for the soldiers to fight the Chechens. While
making a run for freedom, the children were shot
at in the back and legs from above by the
Chechens. The injured children were rescued by
the police and parents and the army fought a
battle with the Chechens.
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The aftermath
The army managed to kill or capture nearly all of
the Chechen terrorists but there was still chaos
outside. Screaming, injured children were picked
up by the nearest adult and were taken to
hospital in ambulances and private cars driven by
volunteers. Eventually, all the children and
adults were evacuated from the scene while the
soldiers managed to either kill or capture the
remaining Chechens. Two managed to escape but
were later captured by the army. The police and
army then searched through the gym which roof had
collapsed for the remains of bodies. At the end
of the siege, 352 people had been killed. 200 of
them were children.
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THE BESLAN SCHOOL SIEGE
NORTH OSSETIA, SOUTH RUSSIA, SEPTEMBER 2004 1000
HOSTAGES. 350 DEAD. 200 CHILDREN
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EMILY COATMAN 9M