Hundreds of mourning families came to Beslan's School No 1 today to express their sadness, and abiding suspicion, as they commemorated the anniversary of the siege that began a year ago this morning.

At 9.15am, the moment a group of 32 Chechen terrorists took over the school, bells started to toll and music played over loudspeakers throughout the gutted, bullet-ridden buildings.

Across Russia, where the school year traditionally starts with festivities, children stood for a moment of silence to remember Beslan.

Parents and relatives of the teachers, soldiers and children who died in the bloody battle that ended the siege and cost 332 people their lives, filed through the gymnasium where more than 1,000 students were held hostage for three days without food or water.

Where bombs hung last year from basketball hoops, today there were photographs of of the 186 children who died in the siege. Russian Orthodox priests in long black robes chanted prayers and mourners leaned down to place red flowers, thin wax candles and stuffed animals throughout the school.

"Of course, everyone, all Ossetians will mark this mournful day, the saddest day maybe in our history. How could it be otherwise? They shot children in the back - 5 years old, 10 years old," said Sergei Zutsev, 65, whose nephew was seriously wounded last year.

There was anger as well as sadness at today's ceremonies. In North Ossetia, one of the most heavily policed areas of Russia, there is still widespread suspicion that corrupt and negligent officials allowed the terrorists to take control of the school before botching the violent operation that ended the siege.

Tension flared and the crowds screamed "Murderer, murderer! Why did you come here?" when the school's headmistress, Lydia Tsaliyeva, arrived at today's commemoration. Ms Tsaliyeva is accused by some relatives of allowing the conspicuous, heavily-armed hostage-takers into the school.

"This was shameful for all of humanity," said Georgy Gutiyev, 73, whose 15-year-old great niece died in the attack. "And what’s worse is nothing has changed. Except for the sympathies of the world, absolutely nothing has changed here... And it’s completely possible that this will happen again."

Persistent anger over the role of the authorities in the siege meant that President Putin was not welcome at today's ceremonies, according to the Beslan Mothers’ Committee, an ad-hoc group that has sprung up to represent families of children killed last year.

Tomorrow, the committee will fly to Moscow to meet Mr Putin and lay out their criticisms of the local and federal authorities who they believe are responsible for the atrocity.

"The Government is supposed to guarantee our lives, take responsibility for our lives, and they haven’t, so we’re taking responsibility," said Susanna Dudiyeva, the leader of the committee, whose son was killed in the ordeal. "The responsibility (for Beslan) lies with President first and foremost," she said.

Beslan was stirred further by a statement released yesterday by Shamil Basayev, the Chechen rebel who has said he planned the attack. He claims that Russian soldiers allowed the terrorists to travel unimpeded through North Ossetia.

According to the statement, a Russian double-agent was leading the terrorists into a trap as they headed to take control of government buildings in the regional capital, Vladikavkaz. But the militants became suspicious and seized the school instead. Prosecutors conducting the lengthy investigation of the siege dismissed the claims.

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