International investigators Thursday reached the area where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 went down earlier this month, following several failed attempts due to the on-going armed conflict between government forces and separatists.

It was the first time investigators reached the crash site in Donetsk region since the plane was downed on July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board, Associated Press reported.

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The arrival of the international team of investigators is expected to shed light on which group is responsible for the shooting down of the MH17 in an area held by pro-Russia rebels.

It came after Ukraine announced a 24-hour halt to its offensive against the rebels in eastern Ukraine as part of its commitment to cooperate with the probe.

Since Sunday, the investigators have been trying to enter the area, but failed due to the heavy fighting, followed by Ukraine's warning on Wednesday that rebels have probably set up land mines on the site and firing positions nearby.

Investigators from Netherlands and Australia, where most of the passenger victims came from, arrived on the site aiming to recover the remaining bodies of victims and their belongings. There is still no exact number of remains that may still be in the crash site.

The investigators will later be joined by representatives from Ukraine and Moscow.

Meanwhille, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak urged both Ukrainian forces and separatists to stop their deadly assaults in and around the crash site to give way to a investigation of the tragedy.

"The conflict in eastern Ukraine may not be easily resolved, but the people on board that plane had no part in it," Razak said, according to AP.

Razak asked for a cease-fire between the two groups as a show of respect for the families of the 298 civilians, including children, who perished in the ill-fated plane.

Even the Group of Seven major developed economies have called on Russia to use its influence to de-escalate the tension, and threatened Moscow of further economic sanctions if it continues to support separatists in Ukraine.

But Russia has snubbed the warnings, with some reports saying Russia is sending high-powered weapons to the rebels to battle the Ukrainian forces.

The downing of MH17 was initially blamed on separatists who could have mistaken the Malaysian jetliner for a Ukrkainian military transport.

The Ukrainian government believes the shoot-down was carried out with the support of Russian military officers.

TagsMalaysia Airlines Flight 17, Ukraine, MH17