OSCE Monitoring Mission Says Civilian Died At Checkpoint In Donbas

LUHANSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2019) A civilian died at the Stanitsa Luganskaya checkpoint in Ukraine's Donbas, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) said on Saturday.

In 2015, Kiev authorities introduced pass control with the territories of Donbas uncontrolled by them. You can enter or leave the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR and LPR) exclusively through checkpoints or through the territory of Russia. In the LNR, the Stanitsa Luganskaya is the only working checkpoint with Ukraine.

"About 50m north of the Ukrainian Armed Forces forward position north of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge (15km north-east of Luhansk), the SMM saw the body of a deceased man (aged 70-80) lying on the asphalt," the SMM press service said.

It clarified that the SMM staff spoke with the two daughters of the deceased man, who reported that their father was heading to the Kiev-controlled territory, but suffered a heart attack.

OSCE observers earlier claimed that transport and economic blockade led to a humanitarian catastrophe in the region and called for the opening more checkpoints.