Thirty-three protesters dead, 67 police captured in Ukraine riots

KIEV (AP):

Fearing that a call for a truce was a ruse, protesters tossed firebombs and advanced upon police lines yesterday in Ukraine's embattled capital. Government snipers shot back and the almost-medieval melee that ensued left at least 33 people dead.

Video footage on Ukrainian television showed shocking scenes yesterday of protesters being cut down by gunfire, and lying on the pavement as comrades rushed to their aid. Trying to protect themselves with shields, teams of protesters carried bodies away on sheets of plastic or on planks of wood.

Police held in riot

Protesters were also seen leading policemen with their hands held high around the sprawling protest camp in central Kiev. Ukraine's interior ministry says 67 police were captured in all. It was not clear how they were taken. An opposition lawmaker said they were being held in Kiev's occupied city hall.

President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition protesters who demand his resignation are locked in an epic battle over the identity of Ukraine, a nation of 46 million that has divided loyalties between Russia and the West.