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UN slams deadly shelling of bus in Ukraine’s Donetsk

A Pro-Russian force stands in front of a damaged building next to a trolleybus stop in Donetsk on January 22, 2015. (AFP photo)

 

The United Nations has “in the strongest terms” censured a shelling attack on a trolley bus in the restive eastern city of Donetsk which claimed the lives of over a dozen civilians, demanding a probe into the assault. 

In a statement issued on Thursday, the UN Security Council called for an objective investigation into the incident, stressing that the perpetrators of the “reprehensible act” must be brought to justice.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and wished a swift recovery to those injured,” said the statement, emphasizing the need for the “full implementation” of the recent truce deal signed between Kiev’s troops and pro-Russian forces late last year.

On September 5, 2014, the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk inked a ceasefire deal in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The truce has been violated almost daily by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces operating in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia has also slammed the shelling of the bus in Donetsk, urging the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to launch an immediate investigation in the deadly incident.

The UN statement came after a trolleybus station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk came under shelling early Thursday. The incident left at least 13 people dead and scores more injured in one of the quietest districts of Donetsk, a city which is under the control of pro-Russia forces.

Later on Thursday, the Defense Ministry in Donetsk announced that it had arrested a covert group which may have been involved in the shelling. According to some Russian media reports, the attack was carried out with mortars, raising suspicion that a Ukrainian sabotage group close to the area was behind the attack.

Kiev, backed by Western governments, accuses Russia of having a hand in the Ukrainian conflict, which has claimed the lives of 4,800 people., while Moscow denies any involvement, saying Kiev continues to suppress the ethnic-Russian population living in the area.

HJM/MKA


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