"Local law enforcement officials, primarily in Ingushetia and North Ossetia, displayed negligence and carelessness in facing a real terrorist threat," chairman of the commission and Federation Council Deputy Speaker Alexander Torshin said in a report on the results of the investigation. "They also failed to follow regulations and orders from higher authorities."
Torshin said Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and his first deputy, Alexander Chekalin, had sent telegrams to North Ossetia's Interior Ministry warning of possible terrorist attacks. The minister ordered a step-up of security measures at schools. Torshin said the instructions had not been carried out.
According to Torshin, the number of hostages, 1,128, was determined later on September 1, while local authorities continued to report only 354 persons were being held in the school.
He also criticized law enforcement for poor coordination. Local residents broke through the police cordon and rushed into the building to save their children, he added. "The list of flaws and weak points in the operation can go on," Torshin said.
He said law enforcement in neighboring Ingushetia had not made sufficient effort to track and arrest militants.
"Ingushetia's Federal Security Service, Interior Ministry, and their local branches did not take measures to track militant groups and prevent their criminal activities," he said.
The September 2004 Beslan school siege lasted 3 days and left 331 people dead and 783 wounded.
