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UN says death toll from Ukrainian conflict exceeds 9,700

Over 22,700 people have been wounded
A shade picture of a child and a note reading #101, the number of children killed in Ukrainian conflict, 01.06.2016 Mikhail Sokolov/TASS
A shade picture of a child and a note reading #101, the number of children killed in Ukrainian conflict, 01.06.2016
© Mikhail Sokolov/TASS

GENEVA, December 8. /TASS/. The death toll from the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has exceeded 9,700 while over 22,700 people have been wounded, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a report published on Thursday.

"The total death toll from mid-April 2014 to 1 December 2016 is 9,758, with another 22,779 people injured," the report reads.

According to the mission, "these figures include Ukrainian armed forces, civilians and members of armed groups. Over 2,000 of those killed were civilians, with an additional 298 passengers killed as a result of the MH-17 plane crash. The number of civilians injured due to the conflict is estimated at between 6,000 and 7,000."

The reports also says that "between 16 August and 15 November, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine recorded 32 conflict-related civilian deaths and 132 injuries."

Besides that, the document points out that "government forces and armed groups operating in civilian areas do not take all feasible precautions against the effects of fighting, resulting in damage to schools, kindergartens, and medical facilities. Ukrainian military forces and armed groups continue to be positioned in civilian homes and buildings in villages and towns adjacent to the contact line. Agricultural land used for military purposes and contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war has a detrimental impact on people’s access to livelihoods."

As the report says, "people who have been internally displaced for up to two years continue to face onerous obstacles in obtaining their social entitlements especially due to the suspension of social and pension payments and the related verification process."

"The impact of the conflict in eastern Ukraine on the human rights situation illustrates the need for the full implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Agreements", the report concludes.