2nd LD Writethru: UN Security Council slams deadly shelling of passenger bus in East Ukraine

The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms" the killing of 11 civilians and the injuring of 17 others in the wake of shelling of a passenger bus in Donetsk region in East Ukraine.

Women and children were among the victims in the shelling of the bus in Volnovakha, Donetsk region, earlier Tuesday, the 15-nation UN body said in a press statement issued here Tuesday night.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to conduct an objective investigation and bring perpetrators of this reprehensible act to justice," the statement said.

The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) at a checkpoint fortified by Ukrainian forces near Volnovakha town, said Elena Davydovska-Malutina, a spokesperson for the Donetsk regional administration.

Local media quoted some insurgent commanders as saying that they were not involved.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, said the statement.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need for strict observation of the Minsk protocol of Sept. 5 and its implementing memorandum of Sept. 19," the statement said.

On Sept. 5, 2014, a ceasefire protocol was signed in the Belarussian capital of Minsk between representatives from Kiev and the rebel leadership in an attempt to end the bloody conflict in East Ukraine, but the agreement has never been fully implemented.

The attack was one of the worst outbreaks of violence against civilians in recent weeks in a conflict between government troops and pro-independence rebels.

The violent confrontation, which has been raging in Eastern Ukraine since mid-April in 2014, has left more than 4,700 people dead and more than 10,000 wounded. Endi