OSCE calls for immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine following the death of civilians and a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation this week.

"The ceasefire represented a real opportunity for a sustainable de-escalation of the situation and to put it at risk would be irresponsible and deplorable," Xinhua quoted OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Didier Burkhalter as saying.

Burkhalter underlined the need to immediately stop fighting and strictly observe the ceasefire deal and to implement the measures agreed upon in the Minsk Protocol signed last month.

The remarks came after Laurent DuPasquier, a 38-year-old Swiss national, who worked as an administrator at ICRC's office in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk city, was killed in a shelling in Donetsk.

The ICRC expressed its distress and shock over the killing of its staff and civilian casualties in Donetsk.

The Ukrainian government troops and insurgents, who staged violent confrontation in the eastern city, have traded barbs, accusing each other of being responsible for the incident.

At least 3,000 people have been killed and around 8,000 wounded in the bloody conflicts in eastern Ukraine, according to the UN estimates.

Sep 5, a ceasefire deal was inked by the representatives of Ukraine's government and the insurgent leadership in Minsk, Belarus in a bid to pave the way for a solution to the crisis.