Ukraine policeman killed and at least 100 injured in Kiev as rebels throw petrol bombs and grenades at parliament building
It followed a vote to give pro-Russian rebels in the east further autonomy
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Your support makes all the difference.One policeman has been killed and 100 injured after rebels threw petrol bombs and a grenade at Ukraine's parliament.
Groups gathered outside the government building in Kiev to protest following the successful parliamentary vote for further autonomy in the Pro-Russian, rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The blast killed one person and seriously injured 10 policemen who were guarding the building, according to the Interior Ministry.
It is not yet known which object caused the blast, but security forces say live grenades were thrown by the crowd. Petrol bombs and fire crackers were also used, while police used tear gas on the crowds.
Reports say 50 National Guard members and some journalists covering the vote have also been caught up in the violence.
According to the AFP news agency, some of the injured were seen lying down in front of the parliament building, covered in blood.
Most protesters are thought to be members of the Svoboda ("Freedom") Party — a nationalist party which has a few seats in the Ukrainian parliament.
They were protesting after the vote for further decentralisation to the rebel-held regions was backed by 265 MPs out of 450. Svoboda say the decision will threaten Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.
The vote was a condition of the Minsk peace agreement which agreed on immediate ceasefire, and was signed in February of this year, by Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Ukraine’s interior minister Arsen Avakov said 30 people have been detained. He took to facebook to criticise the leader of Svoboda, Oleh Tyahnybok for the violence.
Since conflict broke out in the region in February 2014, more than 6,800 people have been killed.
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