OSCE: The number of civilian deaths is increasing in the Donbas
Martin Sajdik, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group said that the number of deaths of civilians in the Donbas increased 120 percent over the last year, Interfax reports.
"It is very sad that the number of civilians killed during the year increased by 120 percent," Sajdik said in Minsk, having provided the relevant data. He noted that "this is the result of the continued use of heavy weapons and the delaying of mine clearance." Sajdik added that this information was provided by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and was confirmed by the OSCE report.
"I would like to note that 85 percent of all violations (the use of heavy weapons - Ed.) occurs in three areas: Avdiivka, Yasynuvata, Mariupol and Svitlodarsk," he said. At the end of March, the OSCE reported that since the beginning of the year, 21 civilians were killed in the Donbas.
At the same time, according to the United Nations as of March 12th, the total number of victims in the Donbas has reached over 33,146 people. Of these, at least 9,940 people died.