The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia failed to protect the hostages of the Beslan school siege in which about 330 people died in 2004. It also said that officials knew an attack was imminent but did not act. In the siege, Chechen rebels took more than 1,000 hostages, mostly children. <br/><br/>It ended when Russian forces stormed the building, an operation with "serious flaws", the court added. Russia said the ruling was "utterly unacceptable" and that it would appeal. <br/><br/>Survivors have said that the troops used excessive force during the operation to retake the school. No Russian official has been held responsible for the high number of deaths, which included 186 children.