OSCE chair concerned about death of ICRC member in Donetsk, urges sides to stop fighting Kyiv, October 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter has said he is appalled by the recent killing of people in Donetsk, and by the violent death of a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), reads a statement posted on the OSCE Web site. He urged all sides to immediately stop fighting, to strictly observe the ceasefire and to implement the measures agreed upon in the Minsk protocol of September 5 and the related memorandum of September 19 this year. Burkhalter expressed his condolences to the families of the many men, women and children who lost their lives due to the violent conflict. Burkhalter reiterated that the ceasefire represented a real opportunity for a sustainable de-escalation of the situation; to put it at risk would be irresponsible and deplorable, reads the report. He underlined the importance of the work of humanitarian agencies for easing the suffering of people in need, particularly in view of the approaching winter. He concluded by calling on all sides to ensure the safety of aid workers and all civilian population and to act in compliance with international humanitarian law, reads the statement. As reported, an ICRC employee, Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, was killed in Donetsk on October 2 during shelling by militants.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 09:05:47 +0000