Where is beslan

Beslan siege — A soldier takes cover as special forces storm the school to free remaining hostages. Beslan siege — A mother hugs her son in front of soldiers cordoning off the school building. Beslan siege — Ossetians comfort children during the rescue operation at Beslan school.

Around local residents were wounded in the hostage siege. Beslan siege — The siege ended on September 3, , leaving people dead -- including children -- and more than people wounded. Beslan siege — People look for their relatives among the bodies of the Beslan siege victims at the morgue in Vladikavkz, North Ossetia, on September 4, Beslan siege — People look for relatives among the dead bodies of the Beslan victims in Vladikavkz, North Ossetia.

Beslan siege — Russian women light candles after a special memorial service at a church on September 7, Beslan siege — Nurpashi Kulayev stands in the defendant's cage during the proceedings of his trial in Vladikavkaz, May 24, Kulayev was the only surviving terrorist responsible for a terrorist act staged at the school.

He was found guilty of terrorism and other charges and sentenced to life in prison. The heavyset year-old roamed the yard listlessly, his dark eyes glazed over, his face covered in stubble. According to local tradition, men stop shaving when a family member dies. They told me my wife and Madina were at the [school] gym together, till the end.

The roof caved in and it all burned I went to Vladikavkaz the next day and found them. They were in the morgue right in the first row. My wife, her face was gone and her body was full of shrapnel wounds. And my Madina, one of her legs was torn off, the other one was hanging by a tendon, her face was all burned.

She was unrecognizable. But I did recognize her — by an earring and by her hair — by what remained of her hair. It felt as though his sorrow, so tangible, had sucked all the air out of the room. A federal investigation by prosecutors ruled in December that the authorities had not made any mistake. Judges said authorities had been "in possession of sufficiently specific information of a planned terrorist attack in the area, linked to an education institution" but that "insufficient steps had been taken" to prevent the terrorists from meeting and travelling or to increase security at the school.

For those caught up in the siege of Beslan's School Number One, this is the result they had hoped for. What happened in Beslan was first and foremost a horrific terrorist attack. But many mothers of those killed have long argued that officials should have done more to save their children. For years, they have been pushing for those who failed them to be held responsible.

Until now, no-one in Russia had been held to account. The court has underlined that there should now be a new, objective investigation here in Russia - and the mothers of Beslan say they will now push for that too. They argue they owe it to their children to make sure those responsible for the loss of life are held to account.

Sign-up to get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning. The mum who could only save one of her children. Mother of Beslan siege victims seeks answers. What is the European Court of Human Rights?

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Zhanna Tsirikhova: "For the sake of the children they could have done more".