15:10 29.09.2016

OSCE SMM ready to monitor conflict sides' disengagement in first districts of Donbas, but being hampered by mines

2 min read
OSCE SMM ready to monitor conflict sides' disengagement in first districts of Donbas, but being hampered by mines

The Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE SMM) said it was ready and able to monitor the process of the conflicting sides' disengagement in Donbas, but mines were still present in the territory of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) were hampering it.

"#OSCE SMM is ready and able to monitor, but prevented: mines at 'LPR'-ctrl area near Pervomaisk-Zolote," the OSCE SMM said on Twitter on Thursday.

The mission also said that mines at the LPR-controlled checkpoint in the town of Schastia were hampering the monitoring process.

"SMM could not cross Schastia bridge from govt-ctrl side due to mines," it said.

It was reported that on September 21 members of the Trilateral Contact Group for Ukraine signed a framework document on disengagement of the Donbas conflict sides' forces and hardware in three sectors.

The document proposes the creation of three security areas on the Donbas contact line near the populated localities of Zolote, Petrovske and Stanytsia Luhanska, each on an area of at least four square kilometers. OSCE SMM observers should monitor the implementation of the agreements.

The disengagement process is set to begin on October 1. The OSCE SMM and the Joint Center for Control and Coordination will monitor it.

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