KUALA LUMPUR: The United Nations Security Council has condemned “in the strongest terms” the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine last week which resulted in the loss of 298 lives.
Calling for an international investigation into the incident, the Council demanded that armed groups in the area allow unfettered access to the crash site and ensure its integrity was maintained.
In a unanimously adopted resolution, it supported efforts to establish a full, thorough and independent international probe into the incident in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines.
Council members also insisted on “dignified, respectful and professional” treatment and recovery of the bodies of the victims, according to a statement issued by the UN News Centre.
In addition, they demanded that all military activities, including by armed groups, be immediately ceased in the immediate area surrounding the crash site to allow for security and safety of the international investigation.
The Council also stressed on the need for armed groups in control of the crash site and the surrounding area to refrain from any actions that might compromise the integrity of the site.
Those responsible for the incident must be held to account and all states must cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability, it added.
Flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200 plane, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it is believed to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile on Thursday.
The Malaysian jetliner went down in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. — BERNAMA