Back
to chaos: Rioters burn tires, throw Molotovs, attack police in Kiev
Clashes
have resumed in central Kiev, following a tense ceasefire. Rioters
are burning tires and hurling firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at
police. There are reports of injuries.
RT,
24
January, 2014
Radical
protesters attacked and held three police officers inside the
occupied city council building amid clashes near Independence Square.
One of the officers received a stab wound, Ukraine’s Interior
Ministry reported.
The
injured policeman was released and hospitalized. The condition of the
other two officers is unknown at this time.
The
opposition has denied the ministry's report that police officers were
attacked by protesters.
In
a separate incident, a police officer was shot dead in Kiev on Friday
night. Witnesses heard the shots and saw two people running away from
the scene, Unian news agency reported. The victim lived near the
Berkut living quarters.
Meanwhile
an explosion went off near the police station in Cherkassy, central
Ukraine. Seven windows were reportedly broken, according to
Espresso.tv. There are no injuries reported.
RT’s
Peter Oliver described the situation in central Kiev: “We saw many,
many Molotov cocktails being thrown by the rioters, also fireworks,
as well as any bits of stones, about the size of a fist if not
bigger. We also saw homemade sling-shots being used on those rocks
being thrown at police.”
“The
wall of flame is separating the rioters and police,” he said.
“There is no sign of any kind of truce, no sign of any kind of
listening to calls for calm.”
Oliver
said that rioters are chanting: “Glory to Ukraine, glory to heroes.
Glory to the nation and death to our enemy.”
Police
are responding to attacks with rubber bullets and flash grenades.
Rioters
have started at least 10 new fires on Grushevskogo Street, with
protesters actively adding more car tires and fuel to the flames,
Unian news agency reported.
Police
forces have lined up directly across from the rioters, keeping calm
and periodically lighting up the area with powerful floodlights.
There
are currently about 1,500 people present on Grushevskogo Street,
including both rioters and police officers, according to Unian. Two
ambulances have arrived at the site of the clashes.
RT's
Alexey Yaroskevsky reported that people on the streets are facing
severe weather, with temperatures expected to drop to -30 Celcius
overnight.
In
the meantime, the opposition said the civil crisis in Ukraine will be
very difficult to solve without western intermediaries.
“We
have a social crisis in our country, not a political one. And we
discussed ways out of that crisis with our European partners. I can
clearly state that it will be very difficult to find a way out of
this crisis without our western partners,” Batkivshchyna opposition
leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said after a meeting with the European
Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule.
Some
experts believe protesters are trying to force the issue.
“This
is a typical extortion tactic. The whole point is to force the
government to react, to force Berkut and other police forces to
confront the protesters and then scream: ‘Bloody murder, oh my god,
they are killing us, they are oppressing us, please help, foreign
intervention,’” Ukrainian affairs analyst Nebojsa Malic told RT.
“It is a very basic tactic from the rebellion playbook, as was
articulated in Serbia 15 years ago and being implemented throughout
the world in Georgia and elsewhere, even in Ukraine 2004 of all
things.”
Meanwhile,
US Secretary of State John Kerry once again confirmed Washington’s
support for Ukrainian protesters during his speech at the World
Economic Forum in Switzerland. Kerry said the US is working with its
allies and top Ukrainian officials to end the violence.
“We
are working with our partners to press the government of Ukraine to
forego violence, to address the concerns of peaceful protesters, to
foster dialogue, promote the freedom of assembly and expression,”
he said.
Kerry
added that he received a text message shortly before beginning his
speech from US diplomats in Kiev, who are negotiating with Ukrainian
President Viktor Yanukovych “to try to achieve calm and help move
in this direction in the next days.”
Earlier
on Friday, Yanukovich promised a government reshuffle and amendments
to the anti-protest laws that triggered the violent clashes in Kiev.
"We
will make a decision at this session [on January 28]. I will sign a
decree and we will reshuffle the government in order to find the best
possible professional government team," Yanukovich said on
Friday, as quoted by his press service.
In
return for rioters leaving Grushevskogo Street - the epicenter of the
unrest - Yanukovich on Thursday offered the release of those detained
during the riots and mitigated penalties for protesters arrested in
clashes.
On
Friday, he confirmed his readiness to pardon all protesters involved
in the riots, as long as they have not committed grave offenses.
A
total of more than 100 people were detained following mass riots in
the city, Kiev authorities stated on Thursday. Hundreds have
sustained injuries. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said
about 256 police officers have been wounded, 100 of them
hospitalized.
Meanwhile,
riots have been spreading to other cities, mostly in western Ukraine,
with protesters seizing local administration buildings and demanding
governors’ resignations.
Demonstrators
seized the governors’ offices in the cities of Lvov, Ternopil, and
Rivne, and administration buildings in Uzhgorod, Lutsk, Khmelnitsky,
Zhitomir, and Sumy.
RT's
Peter Lavelle discusses the issue
CrossTalk:
Kiev Burning
Here is al-Jazeera's rather slanted reporting
I
don't agree with their assessment of the situation, but they make
some valid points of what would happen in the US -Guantanomo Bay within 5 minutes.
If
This Is Happening To Protesters In Ukraine, Imagine What Could Happen
In The US
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