Rebels attack Ukraine military compound despite truce

Pro-Russian rebels launched an attack on Thursday on a Ukrainian irregular troops unit in the heart of the eastern industrial city of Donetsk, an AFP reporter at the scene said. At least 200 gunmen surrounded a compound housing a unit of Ukraine's National Guard and opened fire, despite a temporary truce that had been accepted by both sides.
A witness told AFP that the rebels, who had pulled an armoured personnel carrier flying a Russian flag up to the compound, wanted the National Guard unit's immediate surrender. "An ultimatum was issued by the fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic. The unit refused to leave. So (the rebels) opened fire," said Sergiy, 49, who said he supported the separatists' cause despite his son, a National Guard member, being stranded inside the compound.