a separatist sniper fired at Ukrainian soldiers and civilians from the upper floors of a hospital. Avakov said that the counterattack resulted in the deaths of twenty separatists, and the capture of four, while the rest dispersed. He referred to the separatist militants as "terrorists", and warned that "annihilation" would be Ukraine's answer to future acts of terrorism. Avakov's account of what happened was contested by some Mariupol residents, who spoke to reporters from The New York Times, the BBC, and The Independent shortly after the incident. The residents (many of whom showed their Ukrainian passports to prove they were not from Russia) said that the government had attacked local police who were sympathetic to protesters. One version of events, put forward by a group of residents cited by The New York Times, was that the clash was sparked by Mariupol police rebelling against a new police chief sent by the interim government in Kyiv. The BBC report included a video showing pro-Russian activists trying unsuccessfully to stop armoured vehicles from moving into the city. After the fighting the Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city, leaving it fully under control of pro-Russian protesters. The military retained control over checkpoints surrounding the city. The Ukrainian government said that its forces withdrew "to avoid further aggravation". The troops moving out of the city shot at unarmed civilians, according to The Guardian. Anna Neistat from Human Rights Watch stated "my preliminary findings suggest that Ukrainian units might indeed have used excessive force near the drama theater, which resulted in deaths and injuries of some unarmed people" and urged a full, thorough investigation. One armoured personnel carrier was captured by pro-Russian protesters. After the clashes, the protesters built barricades on roads in the city centre. Overnight, the city administration building was set ablaze and three gun shops were looted. The next day, insurgents set alight the captured armoured vehicle, causing the ammunition inside to explode. Individuals also threw petrol bombs at the city prosecutor's office and a military building, setting them on fire. On 11 May 2014, eight polling places were set up in Mariupol for the DPR's referendum on self-rule, with queues hundreds of metres long. Intervention of Metinvest steelworkers Metinvest in conjunction with owners Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky announced on 11 May 2014 that the company would be forming citywide militia groups from local steelworkers to work with police. The squads