As reported by Fiona Frazer, the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the majority of deaths have been connected with use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements. The data was presented during the 15th report on the human rights situation in Ukraine.
“The report covers the period from mid-May to mid-August. In general the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented 188 civilian casualties in the east of Ukraine during this period, including 28 dead and 160 wounded persons,” said Frazer.
In total, The UN has documented 9,640 deaths and 22,431 wounded across Ukrainian civilians, military, and members of armed groups since the conflict in Donbas began, between April 2014 and September 15, 2016.
Fiona Frazer also noted that there are not enough checkpoints for civilians on the frontline, and people can stand in queues for up to 36 hours to pass through. This creates an additional hazard for civilians crossing the ATO frontline, because there are no bomb shelters at the checkpoints.
“It is difficult to cross the frontline: 26,000-32,000 people do it daily. Every one of the five checkpoints has long queues. People are waiting up to 36 hours, with no latrines, water, and medical care. As summer temperatures has exceeded 30 degrees, some people, mostly elderly, fainted while standing in line. During the reporting period, three people died at checkpoints,” adds Frazer.
According to her, since August 15 the number of people crossing the checkpoint has declined to 25,000 per day. The second half of August has seen the increase in number of victims among the civilian population – additional 11 dead and 53 wounded. The situation has improved in the beginning of September, but still remains unstable.
Taking that into account, the UN asks to increase the number of checkpoints and create more corridors. In addition, the organization recommends lessening the restrictions for IDP’s movement.
