Ukraine crisis: Rebels in Donetsk say discipline is good after they carried out executions to 'prevent chaos'

A rebel spokesman says there have been ‘several’ executions (AP)

Rebels fighting in the bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine are reported to have carried out executions to "prevent chaos".

Igor Druz, an adviser to the pro-Russian separatist military commander, Igor Strelkov, and a spokesman for rebel-held territories in the Donetsk region, told the BBC that on "several occasions" extrajudicial killings had been performed "by shooting".

"As a result, our troops, the ones who have pulled out of Slovyansk, are highly disciplined," he reportedly added. The fighting in eastern Ukraine has claimed more than 1,500 lives since April, when rebels declared independence from Kiev. For almost two weeks it prevented investigators reaching the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jet near Donetsk.

Forensic experts from the Netherlands and Australia finally reached the crash site on Thursday. Yesterday, they continued to carry out investigations at the site, also recovering body parts and victims' belongings.