Commemoration Ceremony for Beslan Terror Attack Victims Takes Place in Paris

PARIS (Sputnik) — The Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris hosted a commemoration ceremony to pay homage to the victims of the 2004 terror attack on a school in Russia's city of Beslan, a Sputnik correspondent reported Saturday.

The ceremony was set up by two non-governmental organizations, namely France's Solidarite enfants de Beslan and Italy's Aiutateci a Salvare i Bambini Onlus.

Over 50 people attended the commemoration event, which started off with a moment of silence in memory of those killed in Beslan school siege and other terror attack of recent years. Then, the visitors saw a series of pictures, taken during the tragic incident in Beslan, and a film shot by the members of one of the NGOs, who visited the city in 2008.

Within the commemoration program, the organizers set up a discussion on the roots of jihadist terrorism and the ways to tackle it. In conclusion, a memorial service was held in the neighboring Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The terror attack on the school in Beslan happened on September 1, 2004. Over 30 terrorists seized the school early in the morning, when the children gathered in the yard to mark the start of the school year. The perpetrators forced the schoolchildren and their families, a total of more than a thousand people, into the school gym. The victims were held hostages there for three days, without food or water. Overall, the attack claimed lives of 334 people, including 318 hostages, 186 of whom were children.