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Ukraine police storm Kiev protest barricades | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Clashes have broken out in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, as police stormed barricades in a protest area. | |
At least one person has been shot dead, says a BBC correspondent in the city. | |
The protesters have been camped out since late November, angered by the government's rejection of a planned treaty with the EU in favour of Moscow. | |
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov had warned that police would use force if the unrest seen on the fringes of the protest in recent days continued. | |
The violence has been restricted to a small area around Hrushevskyy Street, close to the main protest encampment at Maidan (or Independence Square), with most of the rest of the city functioning normally, say correspondents. | |
Hundreds of people have been injured during two nights of clashes, though peaceful protesters have blamed a little-known far-right group, Right Sector, for carrying out the violence. | |
Mr Azarov told state broadcaster Russia 24 late on Tuesday: "If the provocateurs do not stop, then the authorities will have no other choice but to use force under the law to protect our people." | |
Shortly after 0600 GMT on Wednesday, police stormed protesters' barricades on Hrushevskyy Street, TV footage showed. Fresh clashes broke out as police arrested protesters, amid heavy snowfall. | |
Protesters could be seen on live coverage throwing rocks and fireworks towards police. At least one police officer threw a firebomb towards a burned bus. | |
Officials have confirmed that one person was killed said it was not yet clear how. | |
Many of the protesters wore red helmets, in defiance of the news laws which ban protective head gear and masks at protests. | |
The laws also prescribe jail terms for anyone blockading public buildings, and outlaw unauthorised tents in public areas. |