At least 37 killed in E. Ukraine in past week

At least 37 people, including civilians and combatants, were killed and 135 others wounded in the fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine in the past week, reports from the conflicting parties showed on Friday.

Some of the battles have shaken the government-controlled Avdeevka town, killing at least 10 Ukrainian soldiers and wounding 66 others, said Andrey Tsvetkov, a deputy head of the united staff of the Ukrainian army.

The fighting has also been raging through several areas in Donetsk, the stronghold of independence-seeking insurgents, and its satellite towns.

Eduard Basurin, a senior insurgent commander, said that 18 rebel soldiers were killed and 26 injured in the violence over the past week.

The civilian population on both sides of the frontline is also suffering from the ongoing violence.

Nine non-combatant residents of eastern Ukraine were confirmed dead and 43 were wounded in the past week's fighting, with shelling causing the majority of the casualties.

The confronting parties blamed each other for the spike in the hostilities, which marked the sharpest increase of violence in Donbas in the past year.

The conflict has been spreading in Ukraine's east since April 2014, when the government troops launched offensives to regain control over the insurgent-seized cities and towns. It has claimed the lives of some 10,000 people. Endit