Deadly Ukraine bus attack condemned

Deadly Ukraine bus attack condemned

"I condemn in the strongest terms this attack on innocent passengers. I am appalled by this incident and its tragic outcome, and express my deepest sympathies to the families of the victims," he said in the wake of Tuesday's attack.

“This incident comes as the situation in the east of the country has significantly deteriorated and I call on all sides to immediately halt the use of force, exercise restraint, return to the negotiating table and implementing both the letter and the spirit of the Minsk documents," Dacic noted.

“I am following the situation closely through reports from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, and I urge all sides to allow for the safe and unhindered access of OSCE monitors to all areas so that they can do their job,” an OSCE statement quoted Dacic as saying.

The United Nations Security Council too has strongly condemned Tuesday's rocket attack on the bus, which killed 11 civilians, wounding another 20.

A unanimous statement by the 15 UN Security Council members called for an investigation to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.

A local government spokesperson has said that the bus was carrying civilians from the port of Mariupol and that it was passing through a military checkpoint at the time of the attack.