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3 killed, 10 wounded in artillery shelling in E. Ukraine

Xinhua, October 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

At least three civilians were killed and 10 others wounded during artillery shelling in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk city and its outskirts overnight from Thursday to Friday.

According to the insurgent-run DAN news agency, one person was killed during a shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, while other casualties occurred in Makeevka town, which is 5 km in the northeast.

Two children were among those wounded in Makeevka, the agency said, accusing the Ukrainian army of perpetuating the shelling.

Government troops and pro-independence insurgents have been blaming each other for the deadly incident.

"The intensity of the attacks on our territory in the previous evening and night has risen tenfold -- the Ukrainian army had fired about 600 shells and mines," said the news outlet, citing its source in law enforcement agencies of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

Meanwhile, the press service of the government military operation in eastern regions has denied the accusations, saying that the overnight shelling was a provocation by rebels to discredit the Ukrainian army.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are steadily observing the Minsk agreement and have never used the weapons against the civilian population," the army's press service said in a statement.

The shelling, which hit Donetsk and Makeevka, has been the worst incident of civilian casualties since the sides established a new round of ceasefire in mid-September.

As for the combatant casualties, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and six other were wounded in clashes with rebels in the past 24 hours, while the insurgents reported one injured soldier.

The fighting between the government troops and rebels has been underway since April 2014, claiming the lives of more than 9,600 people, according to media reports. Endi