Casualties continue in Ukraine despite ceasefire: UN

In spite of a fragile ceasefire over the past month in eastern Ukraine, the drawn-out conflict has resulted in more wounded and dead civilians, said a report released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Wednesday.

The sixth monthly report, which covered the period from Aug 18 to Sep 16, noted that although there have been no large-scale offensive action since the Sep 5 ceasefire, artillery, tank and small arms exchanges have continued to cause casualties in parts of eastern Ukraine, Xinhua reported.

The UN human rights office estimated that from mid-April to Oct 6, at least 3,660 people were killed and 8,756 wounded in the conflict zone.

The OHCHR said that since the ceasefire began, more than 300 fatalities have been recorded.

According to the report, there were 375,792 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine as of Oct 2, a figure that sheds light on the dilemma of those who have returned home to a volatile security situation, private property destroyed or damaged, and limited access to water and healthcare.

Expected gas shortages are particularly worrying, with winter coming and many IDPs living in ill-equipped temporary shelters, the report noted.

Recently appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein warned that if the crisis went on, it would make the situation untenable for the millions of people whose daily lives have been seriously disrupted and whose basic human rights - including rights to housing, education and healthcare - have been deprived due to the armed conflict.

"While the ceasefire is a very welcome step towards ending the fighting in eastern Ukraine, I call on all parties to genuinely respect and uphold it, and to halt the attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure once and for all," Al Hussein said in a statement.

Al Hussein stressed that all violations of international human rights law and abuses of international humanitarian law must be scrupulously investigated and prosecuted.

The OHCHR underlined that the situation in eastern Ukraine remained unstable. The report urged everyone involved to concentrate their efforts on supporting a ceasefire "that will have a direct positive effect on the human rights situation", end the loss of life, and avoid a large-scale humanitarian disaster.

--Indo-Asian News service

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