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Ukraine’s Security Service vow ‘all measures’ to disarm Right Sector gunmen near Mukachevo

KIEV, July 12. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Security Service [SBU] and the Interior Ministry said in a joint statement on Sunday they are ready to "take all the necessary measures" to disarm and detain the gunmen of the Right Sector extremist organisation blocked near the western city Mukachevo.

"Upon the prosecutors’ request, Ukraine’s Security Service and the Interior Ministry in strict compliance with the existing legislation are ready to take all the necessary measures to disarm and detain the organized criminal group that committed severe crimes on July 11 in the city of Mukachevo with the use of arms, including heavy weapons," the statement posted on the SBU website says.

Taking into consideration the danger for the residents of the Lavki village near which the Right Sector gunmen have barricaded themselves, an evacuation of peaceful civilians, namely children, has been launched, the SBU said.

The law enforcers have promised to meet the demands of the Right Sector gunmen and take them to Kiev "for an objective and unbiased investigation" in case they lay down arms.

The SBU and Interior Ministry expect that Dmitry Yarosh, the leader of the extremist organisation, "will do utmost to convince his supporters to lay down arms." The Right Sector gunmen earlier said they would end the standoff should they receive a respective order directly from Yarosh.

On Saturday, some 20 gunmen of the Right Sector group, which is banned in Russia, opened fire from small arms on their opponents while discussing the "redistribution of spheres of influence" in Mukachevo, in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region. The extremists later opened fire on police, who arrived at the scene, using rifles, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. They destroyed several police vehicles and also set on fire a traffic police checkpoint and a petrol station.

Now security agencies are in talks with the gunmen who are hiding in the wooded areas near the city.

Local prosecutors say three people were killed and another eleven wounded in the attack staged by radicals in Mukachevo. The Right Sector said its two members were killed and another four were injured.

The prosecutors have described the incident in Mukachevo as a terror attack.