OSCE reports fresh upsurge in violence in E. Ukraine
Xinhua, January 20, 2017 Adjust font size:
Violence has resumed in eastern Ukraine after a period of relative calm that was established during the winter holidays,the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Thursday.
Recently, the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine has recorded a notable increase in the use of weapons, which are banned under the Minsk agreement, including multiple launch rocket systems and other artillery, according to an OSCE press statement available here.
The failure of the government troops and independence-seeking insurgents to fully observe the ceasefire, which was established last month, endangers civilians living on both sides of the contact line, the organization said in the statement.
The OSCE currently has hundreds of observers deployed in eastern Ukraine to monitor the conflict.
The insurgent-run DAN news agency said that a woman suffered shrapnel wounds during the shelling early Friday in Elenovka village, which lies near the insurgent stronghold of Donetsk.
There were no reports of casualties among insurgent or government soldiers over the past day.
The conflict has been raging in Ukraine's east since April 2014, claiming the lives of some 10,000 people, including civilians and combatants on both sides.
On Dec. 24, 2016, the conflicting parties started a new round of truce to allow civilians to quietly celebrate Christmas and New Year holidays.Endi