Civilian casualties in east Ukraine fall by 55% after truce: UN
The latest attempt by warring sides in eastern Ukraine to observe a ceasefire has resulted in a 55-percent reduction in the number of deaths and injuries among civilians in the region, the United Nations (UN) says.
“During September 2015, the Office of the [United Nations] High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 43 civilian casualties in the conflict zone (nine killed and 34 injured) – a more than 55 percent reduction compared to an average monthly casualty figure of 95 between February 16 and August 15,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a Saturday report.
On September 1, Kiev and pro-Russia forces fighting against the Ukrainian government pledged anew to implement the ceasefire agreement reached in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk in February.
The truce agreement, dubbed Minsk II, was reached between Ukraine’s warring parties at a summit attended by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany in Minsk on February 11 and 12. The agreement introduced measures such as a ceasefire, which officially went into effect on February 15, the pullout of heavy weapons, and constitutional reforms in Ukraine by the end of the year.
In its report, the OCHA pointed to mines and unexploded ordnance as the main risk threatening the lives of civilians in Ukraine’s east, also known as Donbass.
According to the UN body, the explosive materials and mines were responsible for 81 percent of all civilian’s deaths and injuries in September.
While both sides to the conflict in Ukraine are carrying out demining operations on the front lines, “the scope of contamination outweighs available capacity and resources,” the OCHA warned.
“Estimates by the mine action sub-cluster partners indicate that at least 30,000 hectares of land in eastern Ukraine might be contaminated,” the report noted.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east have been severely affected by fighting between the country’s army and the pro-Russians since April 2014, when Kiev launched a military crackdown there in an attempt to quell protests.
At least 8,000 people have been killed and nearly 18,000 others wounded in the conflict, according to the UN.
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