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DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Despite a nearly two-week-old cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, the number of civilian casualties from fighting in the region is increasing. Shelling in rebel-held areas killed at least 12 civilians today.
The city council in Donetsk, which is the largest rebel stronghold, says shelling killed two people and wounded three others.
And the press center for the Ukrainian government's military campaign says at least 10 civilians In a town east of Donetsk were killed by shelling.
Since the cease-fire, the fighting in Donetsk has been primarily limited to the north of the city, where many residential neighborhoods have been caught in the crossfire of battles centered on the government-controlled airport.
Yesterday, Ukraine's parliament took a step to resolve the crisis by passing laws that would grant greater autonomy to rebel-held parts of the east, as well as amnesty for many of the separatists. It was a major concession to Moscow and to the rebels it supports.
But a rebel leader said today that the separatist leadership isn't willing to let Donetsk and Luhansk remain a part of Ukraine.
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APPHOTO XEL101: A Ukrainian soldier gets medical treatment after he was wounded in a fight with pro Russian separatists in a hospital in Artemovsk, Eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. The cease-fire between the separatists and the Ukrainian military in eastern Ukraine has largely held. (AP Photo/Efrrem Lukatsky) (17 Sep 2014)
<<APPHOTO XEL101 (09/17/14)££
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