KIEV, March 9 - Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists Monday of using mortars and a tank to fire on government positions near the eastern port of Mariupol in clashes that lasted several hours, violating a nearly month-old ceasefire, AFP reported.

The militants fired on Ukraine's positions and were attempting to "force our contingents from Shyrokyne," a village about 10 kilometers east of Mariupol on the Azov Sea coast, the headquarters of the army's operations in the east said in a Facebook post.

The claims could not be immediately confirmed, but would constitute a serious violation of the February 12 peace deal signed in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

Mariupol, a steel-making city of 500,000, is the biggest urban center in the conflict zone still controlled by Kiev. The frontline runs through Shyrokyne.

Underlining tensions over the truce, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on state television that 64 soldiers had died since the ceasefire took effect.
He said a total of 1,549 soldiers had been killed since the start of the war almost 11 months ago, in which the United Nations says more than 6,000 people have perished.

Many Ukrainians fear that any new offensive by the rebels would target Mariupol because of its strategic location and economic importance. The port was hit by a rocket attack in January that killed at least 30 civilians.

Four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the latest clashes, according to military spokesman Oleg Sushinky.

"Starting at 10:00 am (0800 GMT), the militants began to brazenly violate the Minsk accords, firing from 120-millimetre mortars and a tank at Ukrainian forces," he said.

It was impossible to immediately verify his claims.
Use of heavy weapons would violate the Minsk deal, under which both sides were supposed to withdraw mortars, rockets and other large caliber arms from the frontlines.

The defense minister of the self-proclaimed rebel Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin, told Russia's RIA Novosti website that rebels had not engaged in any offensive maneuvers.

But a spokesman for the Azov volunteer battalion, which is fighting alongside government forces in Mariupol, said Shyrokyne had been the scene of sporadic clashes for several days.

International observers trying to monitor the ceasefire and weapons withdrawal have repeatedly complained that rebels are denying them access to outlying areas of Mariupol. (afp/ez)