Ukraine rebels halt MH17 observers The fields round here are littered with parts of MH17, and, in the fields, little white flags, each of them marking where a body is, reports Daniel Sandford in Ukraine A team of international observers say pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine have limited their access to the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines plane. An OSCE spokesman said access to the site had been controlled by armed men, with one firing shots into the air. It is believed flight MH17 crashed after being hit by a surface-to-air missile fired from a rebel-held area in east Ukraine on Thursday. All 298 people - including 80 children - on board died. The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk. The 25-man observer team left the crash site after just over an hour Ukrainian miners helped in the search for bodies of victims in wheat fields near the crash site Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying 189 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and 10 Britons, as well as a number of other nationalities. Intoxicated guard Michael Bociurkiw, a member of the OSCE team, said their access had been limited despite assurances from the regional rebel commander that they would be allowed into the site. A visibly intoxicated armed guard fired his rifle in the air when one of the observers walked out of the prescribed area, Mr Bociurkiw told journalists. The 25 monitors withdrew after just over an hour, having been been unable to set up an access corridor for specialist teams to investigate the crash, he added. Several bodies had been marked but left exposed to the elements, Mr Bociurkiw said, and rescue workers were unable to indicate whose responsibility it would be to remove them. Thomas Greminger, the Swiss chairman of the OSCEs permanent council, told the BBC they would continue to work to see that an international investigation could take place. A tribute to Albert and Marie Rizk, a couple who were two of 27 Australians on board the flight to Malaysia The UN Security Council has called for a full and independent international investigation into what happened to the aeroplane. The two sides in the Ukrainian conflict have accused each other of shooting it down. Ukraines government called the disaster an act of terrorism and released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by separatists. But the pro-Russian separatists said a Ukrainian air force jet had brought down the airliner. On Friday, US President Barack Obama said evidence indicated that the plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a missile launched from a rebel-held area in eastern Ukraine. He described it as an outrage of unspeakable proportions, saying he would ensure the truth is out. Mr Obama said it was up to Russia to stop the flow of heavy armaments and fighters into Ukraine. Yuriy Sergeyev, Ukraines ambassador to the UN, said the attack would not have been possible if Russia did not provide sophisticated anti-aircraft missile systems to rebels. But Russia denies supporting the separatists and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed claims that the country was connected to the attack. Regarding those claims from Kiev that we allegedly did it ourselves: I have not heard a truthful statement from Kiev for months, he told a Russian TV news channel. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crash was a tragedy. He also called for a ceasefire and peace talks, but fresh clashes were reported on Friday less than 100km (60 miles) from the crash site.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:29:04 +0000
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