Ukraine army retakes Mariupol city hall
Iran Press TV
Thu Apr 24, 2014 10:6AM GMT
The Ukrainian government says its military forces have regained control of the city hall in the country's southeastern port of Mariupol.
Ukraine's interim Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced on Thursday that the Mariupol city council building had been "liberated" overnight without any casualties.
He said the mayor of the port city was back in his office following the removal of protesters from the premises.
The city hall was retaken as part of the Kiev government's controversial "anti-terrorist operations" against pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine.
On April 17, Ukraine's interim government together with the United States, Russia and the European Union reached an agreement in the Swiss city of Geneva, calling for all sides to ease the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev protesters keep occupying state buildings in several towns and cities.
Four days later, however, Kiev ordered a re-launch of its crackdown on pro-Russian demonstrations in the region.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian government said its troops have repelled a raid on an army base at the city of Artemivsk, situated in Donetsk Province in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's defense ministry said a soldier was wounded in the attack by unknown people.
"Overnight from April 23 to April 24, around 100 unidentified persons attacked an army base in Artemivsk. The assailants were using automatic weapons, grenade launchers and fragmentation grenades," the ministry said.
In the past weeks, pro-Russian activists have taken control of government buildings in more than ten cities in the eastern parts of the country. They have been demanding local referendums on independence.
Tensions between Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and became part of Russia following a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of over 83 percent.
SSM/HJL/HMV
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