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Beslan Mothers To Meet With Putin


2 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Mothers and other relatives of victims of the 2004 Beslan school hostage massacre are due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin today at the Kremlin.

The meeting comes on the second of three days of memorial events to mark the first anniversary of the three-day siege in Russia's North Ossetia republic, in which some 330 people -- more than half of them children -- died.

Leaders of the Beslan mothers' group have said they intend to confront Putin with questions about the attack by pro-Chechen separatist militants and whether authorities took appropriate action to keep casualties to a minimum. Some relatives of survivors have accused the authorities of ineptitude and have questioned whether the truth about the events will ever be known.

Most of the bloodshed occurred as Russian forces stormed the Beslan school gymnasium as explosions were heard on the third day of the standoff.

(AP/AFP/ITAR-TASS)

See RFE/RL's dedicated webpage "Remembering Beslan"

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