Beslan: Security car 'liable'

2005-09-28 22:19

Vladikavkaz - A witness questioned in the trial of the Beslan school massacre late on Tuesday said an armoured vehicle belonging to the Russian security forces opened fire at the school before a blast blamed by the authorities on the hostage-takers unleashed a chain of events that claimed the lives of many hostages.

Beslan resident Kuzbek Turbinov, 64, told the court he saw an armoured vehicle fire at the school, where the hostage crisis was unfolding before the blast occurred, contradicting the authorities' official version.

He said he witnessed the event from his home, located just opposite the school, at a time when hostages were still inside.

He was speaking at the trial of the sole surviving hostage taker, Nurpashi Kulayev.

Hostage-taker carry bodies away

Turbinov said: "On the third day of the hostage-taking, four men from the security forces went to remove the bodies in front of the school.

"A hostage-taker came out of the building, and when they started carrying the bodies away, an armoured vehicle fired at the corner of the school building.

"The fire was so intense it blew the corner of the school building to bits."

Answering a question from the prosecution, he said: "The blast occurred later."

Three agonising days

Survivors of the massacre and relatives of those who died had long questioned why the gymnasium of the school, where most hostages were held for three agonising days, was engulfed in a blaze that claimed so many lives as the crisis climaxed.

The authorities had blamed the hostage-takers for detonating bombs, forcing Russian security forces to storm the building.

But, relatives blamed the security forces for using weapons that were brutally indiscriminate as they tried to flush out the militants, such as incendiary grenades, flame-throwers and tank shells. The authorities had denied such claims.

The Beslan school massacre, which occurred just more than a year ago, claimed the lives of 318 hostages, including 186 children.

- AFP