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A rebel stronghold in east Ukraine has been taken by government troops, the country's president and a spokesman for the rebels said Saturday.
President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement that government troops took the city of Slovyansk, a city of about 100,000 that has been a center of the fighting between Kiev's troops and the pro-Russian insurgents, after a night of fighting.
Poroshenko commanded the armed forces to 'raise the government's flag' over Slovyansk, which has been under rebel control since early April when they seized the city's administrative and police buildings.
Andrei Purgin of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic told http://ift.tt/1m1lLds that rebels were evacuating, but claimed the army's campaign had left the city 'in ruins.'
Alexei, a driver and local Slovyansk resident who would not give his last name for fear of reprisal, told the AP by phone that he heard bombing throughout the night. When the bombing stopped in the early morning, he left his house and saw that all the rebel checkpoints were abandoned. He said there was some damage to buildings in the center of the city, but said much of the rest of the city had been left untouched.
A rebel commander who would only give his nom de guerre as Pinochet told the AP that rebels had relocated to the nearby town of Kramatorsk, 20 kilometers south of Slovyansk.
Poroshenko said Friday he was ready to conduct another round of talks between representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the rebels.
A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of western Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
A Somali police official says a car laden with explosives has exploded near the parliamentary building in Mogadishu, killing four people. The Somali terror group al-Shabab claimed responsibility.
The head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church has died at 78 after leading it for more than two decades.
Entities 0 Name: Ukraine Count: 3 1 Name: Poroshenko Count: 2 2 Name: Slovyansk Count: 2 3 Name: AP Count: 2 4 Name: Alexei Count: 1 5 Name: Petro Poroshenko Count: 1 6 Name: Donetsk People 's Republic Count: 1 7 Name: Kiev Count: 1 8 Name: Indonesia Count: 1 9 Name: Pinochet Count: 1 10 Name: Kramatorsk Count: 1 11 Name: http://ift.tt/1m1lLds Count: 1 12 Name: Associated Press Count: 1 13 Name: Mogadishu Count: 1 14 Name: Andrei Purgin Count: 1 15 Name: al-Shabab Count: 1 16 Name: Russia Count: 1 17 Name: Orthodox Church Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1meO0Xd Title: Ukraine: Forces control most of 2 separatist areas Description: KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A top Ukrainian security official says government troops have cleared more than a dozen towns of armed pro-Russia separatists and now control two-thirds of the eastern regions at the center of the insurgency. National security council secretary Andriy Parubiy said Friday that Ukrainian forces are still attacking rebel positions with artillery and planes.
