Militants restrict SMM’s freedom of movement in Donbas – report

The OSCE SMM informed this in a report issued on January 4, based on information from the monitoring teams received as of 19:30 on January 3, 2020.

“At a checkpoint west of Verkhnoshyrokivske (formerly Oktiabr, non-government-controlled, 85km south of Donetsk), an armed member of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage, citing “ongoing engineering works” in the area,” reads the report.

At a checkpoint on the north-eastern edge of Starolaspa (non-government-controlled, 51km south of Donetsk), two armed members of the armed formations again denied the SMM passage to the settlement, citing “demining activities” and orders from superiors.

In addition, at a border crossing point near Voznesenivka (formerly Chervonopartyzansk, non-government-controlled, 65km south-east of Luhansk), a member of the armed formations told the SMM to leave the area.

The sides continued to deny the SMM full access, as well as the ability to travel certain roads previously identified as important for effective monitoring by the Mission and for civilians’ movement, through failure to conduct comprehensive clearance of mines, UXO and other obstacles.

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