The United Nations says the death toll from the conflict in eastern Ukraine has reached more than 9,600 as the situation in the region deteriorates.
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said that by September 15 it had documented 9,640 conflict-related deaths and 22,431 injuries among Ukrainian armed forces, civilians, and members of the armed groups since the conflict began in mid-April 2014.
The report by the OHCHR, which covers the period from mid-May to mid-August, shows a 66 percent increase in the number of conflict-related civilian casualties in the east, compared to the previous three-month period.
In total, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 188 civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine, including 28 dead and 160 injured, during the three months covered by the report.
“While the situation has improved since the cease-fire was restored on September 1, the situation along the contact line remains deeply unstable, as demonstrated by the incidents which took place last weekend. In fact, there is a real risk that a new outbreak of violence could happen at any time,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.