31.12.2015, DPR.
OSCE considers the mortar shelling of Cominternovo village near the Donbass contact line by Kiev junta militants a violation of the Minsk Agreements, said the Deputy Head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine Alexander Hug.
Cominternovo suffered an intensive shelling by Kiev’s punitive forces on December 25. Over 240 mortar shells were fired at Cominternovo at approximately 15:00. Later the group of SMM monitors, representatives of Joint Center for Ceasefire Control and Coordination (JCCC), Donetsk People’s Republic military representatives and Russian journalists came under sniper fire. According to OSCE report, the sniper fired from the North-West, where the positions of the punitive forces are.
“What happened in Cominternovo is a clear violation of Minsk Agreements,” Hug summarized.
The process of withdrawal of the heavy weapons away from the contact line in Donbass is not over yet, Alexander Hug added. “Throughout the year, in other locations, heavy weapons have been present, such as in Shyrokino, Debaltsevo, Gorlovka, or other places along the contact line,” he said.
The Deputy Head of the Mission also urged the sides of the conflict to secure the freedom of movement in all regions. Alexander Hug also noted that monitors have encountered movement restrictions throughout the year. Cominternovo, where the monitors were fired at, was the latest of these cases. He emphasized that this must stop, as such a situation is not acceptable.
Source: TASS
