Armed Men Take Control of Crimean Airport
In the still from the video on the front page the armed men appear to be uniformly equipped and dressed.
Several hundred armed men in green camouflage, without insignia and carrying military-style automatic rifles, entered and secured areas of the civilian airport in Crimea’s regional capital of Simferopol early Friday morning.
Video taken at the airport show the men patrolling the inside of the airport and standing guard outside. Flights continued to operate; no shots were fired.
Protests in Ukraine: Activists clash as police force is given refuge: Viktor Yanukovych, who was as ousted president of Ukraine but reportedly still claims himself its rightful leader, called on the Ukrainian military to resist any orders to interfere in pro-Russian protests in eastern and southern Ukraine. Tensions in Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea, were heightened Thursday when a band of armed men seized two government buildings.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s new Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the armed men were Russian troops.
“What is happening can be called an armed invasion and occupation. In violation of all international treaties and norms. This is a direct provocation for armed bloodshed in the territory of a sovereign state,” Avakov reported.
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Video at CNN cnn.com