Ukraine puts security forces on alert over Crimea standoff: minister

KIEV: Ukraine put police and interior ministry troops on alert Thursday after armed men seized the government and parliament in the pro-Russian region of Crimea, interior minister Arsen Avakov said.
"Early morning, unknown men armed with automatic and machine guns seized the building of the Crimean government in Simferopol," Avakov said in a Facebook post. "Interior troops and the entire police force have been put on alert," he said. The area has been cordoned off "to prevent bloodshed."

AFP