|
Security sources said a force of separatists had occupied the
upper floors of a nearby apartment block and were shooting into
the border post on the southern edge of Luhansk, a city very
close to the frontier with Russia.
"Shooting is continuing. There has been no let-up in firing for
seven hours now," border post spokesman Oleh Slobodin said.
"We have 8 or 9 wounded. The attackers have five dead and 8
wounded," he said.
Ukraine's eastern region has been riven with separatist armed
rebellion for the past two months which the Kiev government says
is fomented by Russia. It says armed fighters from Russia and
the Caucasus region are fighting alongside rebels who are
fighting rule from Kiev.
Another statement from the Ukrainian border service said the
separatists at the Luhansk border post were sniping from private
apartments and had stopped people leaving the residential block
they had occupied, making it difficult for the border guard
forces to return fire.
The Ukrainian army is taking part in an "anti-terrorist"
operation to try to crush the rebellions in the east. Border
guards said on Monday that the army had not yet reinforced to
help them fend off the attack in Luhansk.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing By Richard Balmforth;
editing by Ralph Boulton)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
