2
Dead in Ukraine Protests
Riley
Dyer
Senior
Reporter
The first fatalities have been
confirmed in the increasingly heated clashes between the Ukraine government and
anti-government protestors, raising concerns that the situation is spiraling
into a dangerously violent mess. Medics on the scene said that a third man died
from falling off of a building. However Natalia Vishnevska, spokeswoman for the city
health department, said that the man is in critical condition at a local
hospital.
The
deaths have fueled the fears that the daily protests are headed for a violent
climax after the Ukrainian government decided to shun the European Union for
closer ties to Russia. Prosecutors claim that the men were shot with live ammo,
and have opened a criminal investigation to find the men responsible. Prime
Minister Mykola Azarov claims that the police force was not armed with live
ammunition, and also says that the opposition leaders should be charged with
the deaths.
The
protestors swelled into the hundreds of thousands after a small and peaceful
rally was violently ended by police. After the government refused to meet with
the opposition leaders the protests turned violent, with protestors throwing
fire bombs and stones at riot police. The deaths happened on the fourth day of
the violent protests. The bodies were found before the police decided to
destroy the barricades placed by protestors near government buildings in Kiev
and chase away the protestors.
The
police herded the demonstrators down a hill towards the main protest site in
Independence square, where the protestors have set up and extensive tent camp.
Independence square has been the site of rallies and demonstrations since early
November. The police made no immediate move on the camp.
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