DHAKA: Armed rebels were besieging a hospital in their eastern Ukraine stronghold on Saturday in an apparent bid to seize wounded foes after a deadly firefight.

A media correspondent said, reports The Straits Times.

A doctor at the hospital in the main eastern city of Donetsk said the pro-Russian separatists were demanding to take injured members of a Ukrainian defence unit to use them in a prisoner swap.

Several gunmen were standing guard outside the hospital, while others could be seen taking up positions on stairwells and other areas inside the building.

‘Look around us, the world has become crazy,’ said one staff member taking a cigarette break outside the four-storey building.

BDST: 2002 HRS, MAY 24, 2014