Shooting reported in Ukraine protest

Ukraine’s interim interior minister says firing has broken out in Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region.Arsen Avakov said the gun battle began when mentried to storm local administration buildings and police fired back.Several more official buildings were reported to have been seized in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.The confrontations come amid rising tension between the new government and pro-Russia protesters.Earlier, gunmen occupied a police station and a security services building in the town of Sloviansk.Official buildings in Druzhkovka were also reported to have been taken over.A Donetsk police chief also quit after pro-Russian crowds marched on a police station demanding his resignation.Ukrainian TV channel 5 Kanal has aired remarks by the former police chief Kostyantyn Pozhydayev,saying over the phone that he had resigned in a bid to avoid bloodshed.“Protesters came to me. So as to prevent bloodshed, I decided to tender my resignation to the [interior] minister,” he said.The same channel also showed Pozhydayev’s deputy, Andriy Anosov, captioned as police chief, inviting pro-Russia protesters to work together with the police to prevent violence and looting.