Related News
Armed group seizes airport in Crimea, Ukraine warns Russia against military movements
Online Edition
An armed group took control of the airport of Crimea's capital Simferopol in southern Ukraine today, one day after Ukrainian security forces were put on alert in response to unidentified gunmen's seizure of local government and parliament buildings.
Some 50 armed men carrying Russian navy flags took control of the airport overnight after arriving in trucks, the Interfax news agency reported.
Witnesses were quoted as saying that the armed men were wearing the same gear as those who seized local government buildings in Simferopol.
Yesterday, security forces in Crimea were put on alert after an armed group had seized local government and parliament buildings.
"A squad of unknown persons armed with automatic weapons and machine guns, seized the buildings in Simferopol, Crimea. Internal troops and the police officers were alerted," interim Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement.
Around 120 armed men stormed and seized two administrative buildings early yesterday. Witnesses said a Russian flag was raised over both buildings. The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal case into the incident, on suspicion of terrorist attack.
The Crimean Peninsula is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian region, where a lot of ethnic Russians and Crimean Tatars live. The region occasionally witnesses clashes between different ethnic groups.
Tensions escalated in the area this week following the dismissal of Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who was reportedly to hold a news conference Friday in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, not far from the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Alexandr Turchynov, who is also Ukraine's acting president, urged Russian naval troops to refrain from going beyond the base of the Black Sea Fleet on the Crimea Peninsula.
Any troop movements outside the base "will be considered as military aggression," he told parliament.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
