UN chief calls for brief ceasefire in Ukraine’s Debaltseve
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Kiev government troops and pro-Russia fighters in the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve to observe a temporary ceasefire, which would allow the evacuation of civilians trapped in the conflict.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN chief raised the alarm about the “plight of the civilians trapped without basic services in the city of Debaltseve (in Donetsk region),” stressing that "civilians are dying on a daily basis."
Ban was backing a three-day truce proposed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Tuesday.
He further called on both warring sides "to immediately move their military positions away from densely populated civilian areas" in order to create a safe passage for the people to leave the war-torn city.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Sunday announced that thousands of Debaltseve residents were evacuated from the city.
However, Amnesty International has warned that some 7,000 people still remain trapped in the city in basements without water or electricity.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in April 2014 in a bid to crush the protests.
Violence intensified in May 2014 after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.The fighting has left more than 5,300 people dead and over 12,200 wounded, the United Nations says.
HJM/NN/HMV
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