Ukraine police storm main Kiev 'Maidan' protest camp

Explosions are taking place, fireworks are being thrown and large fires have broken out in Independence Square, known locally as the Maidan.
Police have deployed water cannon.

During the day, at least 13 people were killed, including six policemen, as protesters and security forces clashed in the worst violence in weeks.

Security forces had given protesters a deadline of 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) to end the unrest and had surrounded Independence Square, which has been the scene of a mostly peaceful protest camp since November.

The city's metro service was suspended, and there were reports that cars were being prevented from coming in to the capital.

Protest leaders had insisted they would not retreat, though warned that they could not "exclude the possibility" of the authorities using force.

Then shortly before 18:00 GMT, police announced over loudspeakers that they were about to begin "an anti-terror operation".

They began advancing with an armoured vehicle, dismantling barricades and fired stun grenades and water cannon.

Protesters lit fires and threw fireworks and Molotov cocktails. Many tents have been burned.
But large numbers of people are still in the square. Protest leaders are on the main stage, encouraging them to stay.

"We will not go anywhere from here," said opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko.
"This is an island of freedom and we will defend it."

Mr Yatsenyuk, who leads the Fatherland party, appealed to President Viktor Yanukovych to "call off your chain dogs who are shooting at civilians".
"There are people here, children, youth and women. We did not start this confrontation. We are urging you to pull the law enforcement bodies back 200 metres. Stop the bloodshed and call a truce until morning," he said, in comments broadcast live on Ukraine's News 24 channel.

"We are talking about human lives and the future of the country which could be drowned in blood. Stop, Viktor Yanukovych, stop."

An aide to Mr Yanukovych was quoted by Ukrainian media earlier as saying the president was "against confrontation and conflict" and did not want to forcibly disperse the camp.

The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says this is a key moment for the country and that many people are scared of further escalation. Although this does not necessarily mean a civil war - as some have previously suggested - Ukraine remains dangerously divided, our correspondent says.

The White House said it was "appalled" by the violence, saying "force will not resolve the crisis".
"To restore peace and stability, we urge President Yanukovych to de-escalate immediately the situation and end the confrontation" with protesters, said spokesman Jay Carney. "We also urge him to restart a dialogue with opposition leaders today."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had earlier called for restraint and dialogue.
In other international messages of concern:

• German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Ukraine was "experiencing dramatic hours" and that was up to the security forces to de-escalate the crisis. He said the EU could consider imposing sanctions.
• The UK's Minister for Europe, David Lidington, said such violence had "no place in a European democracy" and urged "all parties to return to the path of compromise and genuine negotiation".
• EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton earlier said she was "deeply worried" about the unrest and urged politicians to "address the root causes".
• Russia blamed the earlier violence on "connivance by Western politicians and European structures" and their refusal to consider the "aggressive actions" of radical factions within the protest movement.
• Rinat Akhmetov, one of Ukraine's richest men - and a powerful financial backer of Mr Yanukovych - said there were "no circumstances that would justify the use of force against peaceful citizens" and called for negotiations to find a peaceful solution.

Meanwhile, there are also reports of unrest breaking out elsewhere in Ukraine, including the cities of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west.

Ukraine's unrest began in November, when President Yanukovych rejected a deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.
After weeks of unrest, the mood had calmed in recent days, but the protest camps remained in place.

Then earlier on Tuesday, police blocked protesters from marching on parliament, where MPs had been due to debate proposed changes to the constitution which would have reduced the powers of the president.

The debate did not take place. Mr Yatsenyuk said President Yanukovych was blocking the reforms and that his allies "show no desire whatsoever to end the political crisis".

But MPs who support the president said the proposals had not been thoroughly discussed, and that more time was needed.

Some protesters outside parliament ripped up cobblestones to throw at police. Others threw smoke bombs. Police fired stun and smoke grenades, and rubber bullets. Correspondents say it was unclear what sparked the crisis, with each side blaming the other.

Protesters also attacked the headquarters of President Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, temporarily smashing their way in and setting it on fire before being forced out by police.

Police said late on Tuesday that at least 13 people were had been killed, including six police officers.
The president is scheduled to meet protest leaders on Wednesday morning to discuss the constitutional proposals.

Labels: Conflict, Ukraine, Violence

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, February 18, 2014