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Sun, 04 May, 2014 12:19:02 AM EU deplores deaths in Odessa violence FTimes-STT-Xinhua Report, May 4  File picture of Finland foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja. Lehtikuva. Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on Saturday expressed the fear of a possible civil war in Ukraine, if the situation of strife goes unabated and human casualties continue to rise.
“If the situation continues like this and if the death toll continues to increase, yes, we are very close to a situation of civil war,” he news agency STT over phone.
He also feared the possibility of a deepening of the crisis and a rise in the number of killings there.
“The situation is very worrying. If it goes on, the number of victims would be much larger,” said Tuomioja. He termed Friday the bloodiest day in Ukraine in the past one month.
Policemen stand guard outside the charred trade union building in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 3, 2014. Flowers, candles and photos of the dead pile up outside a charred building in the scenic Ukrainian port city of Odessa where anger simmers a day after brutal clashes claimed 42 lives. Photo AFP-Lehtikuva. He also observed that the groups involved in the fighting are not controlled either by Kiev or by Moscow.
“Now we have to be very careful in assessing the situation, because all information is unconfirmed,” said the Finnish foreign minister, adding that deliberately falsified information and cross-accusations are rife.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, heavy fighting, like that in a civil war, is going on in the eastern town of Kramatorsk located near Slovjanskin.
Meanwhile, the European Union on Saturday deplored victims in Friday’s clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in Ukraine’s Black Sea city of Odessa, urging “everyone” to exercise utmost restraint, news agency Xinhua reported.
Saying the EU is “deeply saddened” by the tragic loss of human lives, the European External Action Service in a statement said an “independent” probe should be launched to ascertain the cause and those responsible should be brought to justice.
Pro-Russian activists beat a pro-Ukraine supporter trying to save the Ukrainian flag removed from a flagpole outside the burned trade union building in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 3, 2014. More than 30 people were killed in a "criminal" blaze in Ukraine's southern city of Odessa, as violence spread across the country during the bloodiest day since Kiev's Western-backed government took power. Photo AFP-Lehtikuva. “All political forces must now assume their responsibility and engage in a peaceful and inclusive dialogue to find a joint way out of the crisis,” the statement said.
The EU urged reinforced efforts to implement the Geneva Joint Statement of April 17, which calls for de-escalation of tension in Ukraine.
More than 40 people were killed and over 170 others injured when pro- and anti-government protesters clashed on Friday in Odessa, according to local officials.
Among the dead, mostly pro-Russia protesters, 30 were choked to death when radicals set fire to a trade union building, while eight others died as a result of jumping out of windows to escape the burning building.
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| Tuesday, 23 April, 2024 |
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