Int’l experts arrive at downed Malaysian jet site in UkraineAugust 1, 2014 - 16:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Dutch and Australian experts finally arrived at the site of downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in east Ukraine on Friday, Aug 1, after clashes between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian armed groups killed 14 combattants. The 70 police investigators "will conduct search operations in several places at the crash site," a Dutch government statement said. Any remains found of the 298 people who died in the tragedy would be recovered, it added, according to AFP. The mission is tasked with launching an international probe into the downing two weeks ago of the airliner. Although the Dutch and Australian officers made it there Friday, Ukraine's months-long conflict still raged around the zone. The Ukrainian military said an overnight ambush by insurgents in Shakhtarsk, a town 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the impact site, left 14 people dead, including at least 10 soldiers. The clash broke a brief lull that had reigned around the site. "In total it is known that 14 people died but the bodies of four of them have not been identified and could be Ukrainian soldiers or terrorists," AFP quoted military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky as saying. The military said that it had made fresh gains by taking the village of Novyi Svit, some 25 kilometers southeast of Donetsk, and was waging operations to secure the volatile border with Russia. Fighting also flared in Donetsk, which serves as the base for the international police and journalists trying to reach the MH17 site some 60 kilometers away, with local authorities saying one civilian died after a minibus taxi was hit by mortar shrapnel. In Lugansk, officials said five civilians were killed and nine injured due to clashes over the past 24 hours. Photo: Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |