MOSCOW, Sept 6 (AFP) - Shots fired by civilians triggered the assault by Russian security forces on the Beslan school which ended with hundreds dead, at a time when negotiations were still going on, a mediator in the crisis said.
"When an explosion went off and the children started to flee, we phoned the hostage-takers and asked them to stop firing. They replied: 'We have stopped firing, it's you who are firing," the former Ingushetia president told the Novaya Gazeta's Monday edition.
"We gave the order to stop firing but there was a third force, these popular militias who decided to liberate the hostages on their own," said Aushev.
According to Aushev, it was only then that the hostage takers activated other explosions and the decision was made to launch the assault.
"They shouted on the phone 'It's the attack!'. We replied, no, the Alfa (elite troops) are not moving. They then said: 'You are shooting at us, it's the attack. We are going to blow everything up."
"Everything went wrong due to these stupid civilians," he concluded.
Aushev was the only mediator to enter Beslan School No 1 in the three-day standoff and was credited with obtaining the liberation on Thursday of 26 women and children captives.