BESLAN, Russia -- The city of Beslan in Russia's North Caucasus region of North Ossetia is marking the 20th anniversary of one of the worst terror attacks in Russian history.
Local residents marched on September 1 in the yard of School No. 1 in Beslan, holding portraits of loved ones they lost 20 years ago in a massacre that unfolded after Chechen and Ingush Islamic extremists seized the elementary school and took more than 1,200 people hostage.
The procession was part of three days of "Silence and Mourning" in remembrance of the siege, which turned deadly when Russian forces stormed the school on September 3, 2004, resulting in a standoff that left 334 people dead, including 186 children.
Mourners on September 1 laid flowers in the ruins of the school's sports hall, where hostages were held for three days by some three dozen militants demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from then-breakaway region of Chechnya.
WATCH: This is an untold story about what happened after the 2004 massacre in Beslan. Music teacher Dina Kargiyeva lost her 11-year-old daughter in the chaos. At first, Kargiyeva did not want to live. Later, she tried in vitro fertilization and a surrogate mother but both failed. Finally, aged 44, she adopted a girl who was her salvation.
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Regional officials, residents, and members of the Mothers of Beslan NGO were among those attending the commemoration.
North Ossetian Governor Sergei Menyailo said on Telegram that he handed to the Vladikavkaz and Alania Diocese an icon of the Holy Bethlehem Infants, which he received as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to North Ossetia last month.
The major commemoration events are scheduled for September 3, the anniversary of the day Russian forces stormed the school.
In 2006, a Russian parliamentary commission blamed the hostage-takers for the high death toll and exonerated Russian security forces.
But the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2017 ruled that Russia must pay nearly 3 million euros ($3,313,740) to the relatives of the Beslan victims, saying that Russian authorities failed to protect the schoolchildren, teachers, and parents.
The ECHR also said Russia had not done enough to prevent the attack, despite having information that such an act was in the works.