European court rules against Russia in 2004 Beslan school siege

Says no preventive steps taken to protect victims from the terror attack that left over 300 dead — over half of them children.

In this September 6, 2004 photo, a girl weeps while laying flowers for the Beslan victims outside the Moscow representative office of North Ossetia region, where the hostage-taking occurred between September 1 and September 3 that year cliaming over 300 lives, including those of a sizeable number of children.

The European Court of Human Rights had said that Russia failed to adequately protect victims of a 2004 school siege in the city of Beslan that left more than 300 people dead.

More than half the hostages killed were children.

Troops used arms indiscriminately

In a ruling on Thursday, the France-based court said authorities did not take necessary preventive measures to save lives. It said the security forces’ use of tank cannon, grenade launchers and flame-throwers contributed to casualties among the hostages. It noted failures to increase security before the attack despite imminent threats against schools in the area.

Armed radical Islamic assailants seized the school on the first day of class, prompting a long standoff that ended in explosions and gunfire.