Clashes in Kiev kill at least 67 this week, authorities say

At least 67 people have been killed in two waves of violence between protesters and riot police that began on Tuesday, Kiev city authorities said on Thursday, as the White House said it was “outraged” at the violence.

“Sixty-seven bodies had been delivered to the forensics bureau,” by Thursday afternoon, the Ukrainian city administration said in a statement that provided the highest official casualty figure from the violence to date, according to Agence France-Presse.

However, opposition medics earlier said that 67 protesters had been shot dead by police on Thursday alone, when a truce between the government and opposition leaders disintegrated.

Meanwhile, the White House urged Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych to withdraw security forces from the center of the protests in downtown Kiev and to respect the right of peaceful demonstrations.

‘Outrage’

“We are outraged by images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, the White House warned Ukraine's government of “consequences” if it did not refrain from violent actions against peaceful demonstrators.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has also put 20 top Ukrainian officials on a visa blacklist and threatened further sanctions.

(With AFP and Reuters)