Dozens of armed men have seized the regional government administration building and parliament in Ukraine's southern Crimea region, where pro-Russian demonstrators have faced off against rival protesters
Some 50 gunmen are
occupying the buildings in the city of Simferopol since early morning, the
press secretary to the head of the region told CNN on Thursday.
A Russian flag is flying
over the parliament building, said Violetta Limona, press secretary to Crimea
premier Anatolii Mohyliov.
She added parliament
and government employees were told to stay away from the buildings as Mohyliov
tried to negotate with the gunmen.
The men, however,
refused to listen, sayig he didn't have the authority, said Refat Chubarov, a
member of the Crimean Parliament.
Ukrainian Interior
Minister Arsen Avakov said he has ordered police in the country to be prepared.
"Order has been
issued to create a cordon around the Parliament in Crimea, and to avoid
shooting and violence," he posted on his Facebook page.
Tensions in the
Crimea region have simmered since the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovych last week. Scuffles broke out on Wednesday as the mood soured among
the thousands rallying in front of the Crimean parliament building.
One group waved
Ukrainian flags and shouted "Crimea is not Russia," while the other
held Russian flags aloft and shouted "Crimea is Russia," images
broadcast by Crimean TV channel ATR showed. As the crowd became more agitated,
a line of police moved in to divide the groups.
Local leaders sought
to calm the mood, urging the protesters to go home and resist provocations.
The demonstrations
signal the broad divide between those who support what is going on in Kiev,
where the new government is leaning toward the West, and those who back
Russia's continued influence in Crimea and across Ukraine.
Source: CNN
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