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2,500 children face dire conditions due to fighting in east Ukraine: UNICEF

Xinhua, February 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned Wednesday that over 17,000 people, of which 2,500 are children, are facing heating, electricity, and water shortages as a result of fighting between Ukrainian forces and insurgents around the eastern Ukraine town of Avdiivka.

UNICEF reported that children living in the town located in the disputed Donetsk region are also unable to attend school after 10 educational establishments were forced to temporarily shut down.

Amid these shortages, the residents of Avdiivka are also contending with freezing conditions, as temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 17 degrees Celsius.

"Not only are the lives of thousands of children in Avdiivka, and on all sides of the conflict, at risk, but to make matters worse, the lack of water and electricity means that homes are becoming dangerously cold and health conditions deteriorating," UNICEF's representative in Ukraine, Giovanna Barberis, said in a written statement.

"UNICEF and partners call for safe access to carry out immediate repairs to the damaged water and electricity infrastructure to prevent further suffering," she added.

According to UNICEF, other towns and villages in the Donetsk region are also facing water shortages after the power supply to the Donetsk filtration station, which provides water to some 400,000 people, was cut off on Jan. 29. Endit