Ukraine: Police say 20 officers wounded by gunfire in Kiev

Kiev, Ukraine: Despite a truce called by Ukraine’s protest leaders and the president they aim to oust, street fighting between protesters and police in the center of Kiev continued on Thursday morning, as the number of people reported dead in the conflict rose to 28. Smoke from burning barricades surrounding the protest camp rose above the Ukrainian capital, as several thousand protesters remained on the square and hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks at lines of police, who responded with stun grenades. An Associated Press cameraman saw one unconscious protester being taken off the square in a stretcher, as well as numerous others with minor injuries. Police said 20 officers were wounded by gunfire in the capital, and were receiving treatment Thursday. The two sides are locked in a battle over the identity of this nation of 46 million, whose loyalties are divided between Russia and the West, and parts of the country are in open revolt against the central government. The latest bout of street violence began Tuesday when protesters attacked police lines and set fires outside parliament, accusing Yanukovych of ignoring their demands to enact constitutional reforms that would limit the president’s power — a key opposition demand. Parliament, dominated by his supporters, was stalling on taking up a constitutional reform to limit presidential powers. [caption id=“attachment_1400507” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ukraine’s riot police are seen in this photo as they clash with protestors. AP[/caption] In a statement published early Thursday, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said 28 people have died and 287 have been hospitalized during the two days of street violence. Protesters, who have set up a medical care facility in a downtown cathedral, say the numbers are significantly higher. Ukrainian police said Thursday that more than 20 officers have been wounded by gunfire in the capital. A statement from the Interior Ministry on Thursday said the gunfire appeared to be coming from the national music conservatory, which is on the edge of the downtown square housing an extensive protest tent camp. It did not say when the officers were wounded, but added that they were receiving treatment on Thursday. Also Thursday, the parliament building was evacuated because of fears protesters were preparing to storm it, said parliament spokeswoman Irina Karnelyuk. The renewed clashes despite the declaration of truce follow days of violence, the most deadly since protests kicked off three months ago after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. After Yanukovych shelved the agreement with the EU, Russia announced a $15 billion bailout for Ukraine, whose economy is in tatters. The ongoing violence on the square on Thursday indicates that more radical elements among the protesters may be unwilling to observe the truce and may not be mollified by the prospects of negotiations. Although the initial weeks of protests were determinedly peaceful, radicals helped drive an outburst of clashes with police in January in which at least three people died, and the day of violence on Tuesday may have radicalized many more. Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who along with two other leaders met with the president late on Wednesday to discuss a truce, said the president assured them that police would not storm the protesters’ encampment on Kiev’s Independence Square, according to the Interfax news agency. A brief statement published on the president’s website late on Wednesday did not give details of what terms a truce would entail or how it would be implemented. Nor did it specify how the negotiations would be conducted or give an indication of how they would be different from previous meetings of the president and the opposition leaders. Associated Press