Civilian killed, four wounded in E. Ukraine as violence escalates

A civilian was killed and four others were wounded in eastern Ukraine as violence has returned to the conflict-ravaged Avdeevka town after more than a week of relative calm, authorities said on Friday.

One person was killed and two others were wounded during the shelling in the town in the previous day, while two civilians were injured on Friday afternoon, the country's Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The shells have hit two private buildings and damaged a gas pipeline, the ministry said, blaming independence-seeking insurgents for the shelling.

Insurgent representatives have not commented on the developments so far.

The government-controlled Avdeevka, which lies on the outskirts of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, has been the epicentre of fierce battles of the Ukrainian army and the rebels between Jan. 29 and Feb. 6, 2017.

At that time, hostilities have damaged more than 100 private houses and a number of public infrastructure facilities, leaving the residents of the town without heating, electricity and water amid winter temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius.

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