250 civilians killed in Lugansk: OSCE
Iran Press TV
Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:11AM GMT
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says at least 250 civilians have been killed and over 850 wounded in Ukraine's eastern city of Lugansk, where government troopers are fighting pro-Russian forces.
The OSCE released the figures in a report on Saturday, saying the data includes those who perished or were injured in the months of June and July.
The organization added that the figures, however, excludes the civilians killed in close vicinity of combat zones as well as those killed in action.
The European observers said that the situation in Ukraine's volatile Lugansk and Donetsk regions "remained tense with on-going fighting around the city of Lugansk."
The report comes as there is no sign of a halt to the conflict in Ukraine's eastern regions despite mounting pressure for a ceasefire following the crash of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine's east on July 17.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing, which was carrying 298 people, was en route from the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, to Kuala Lumpur when crashed in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine launched military operations in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in mid-April to crush the pro-Russia protests there. Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the ongoing military campaign in the country. Tens of thousands have been forced to escape to Russia, while over 4.5 million people remain in the conflict zone, according to a UN report.
CAH/HJL
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