You're reading: OSCE SMM patrol leaves village of Oktiabr after being threatened by DPR representative

A patrol of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has been forced to leave the village of Oktiabr controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) due to the pressure by a DPR militant.

On July 30, an area east of the DPR-controlled Oktiabr (28km north-east of Mariupol), an SMM patrol was stopped by two members of the DPR in a civilian pick-up vehicle, who ordered the patrol to return in the direction they had just travelled, the OSCE SMM said on July 31 in its report as of 7.30 p.m. on July 30.

The DPR members escorted the patrol back to a DPR checkpoint, where one armed man exited his vehicle and stood in front of the lead SMM patrol vehicle, the mission said.

“After shouting and behaving aggressively, he took a 12.7mm heavy machine-gun from the vehicle, loaded it with shaking hands, and pointed it at the SMM. Acting aggressively, he approached the lead SMM vehicle and gave an ultimatum: depart the area through Oktiabr or take his escort to the next checkpoint,” the report reads.

After that, the SMM patrol turned around and left Oktiabr, and returned safely to base in Mariupol.