Over 2,500 civilians killed since start of conflict in E. Ukraine: UN

KIEV, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- More than 2,500 civilians were killed and about 9,000 others injured in eastern Ukraine since the start of an armed conflict in April 2014, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday.

In its "Ukraine Humanitarian Needs Overview 2018" report published here on Monday, the OCHA said that about 200,000 people living along the contact line between government troops and pro-independence insurgents are regularly experiencing the injury or loss of their loved ones or neighbors.

About 1,500 clashes between the conflicting sides occur near the contact line each month, endangering civilians, the report said.

Landmines and other remnants of war also pose a threat to people, it said.

Later in the day, the special monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which observes the situation in eastern Ukraine, said that at least 400 civilians were either killed or injured in the conflict this year.

In April 2014, the Ukrainian government started a military operation against armed groups, who seized cities and towns in Donbas region and declared independence from Kiev.

The confrontation has snowballed into the violent conflict, which has killed more than 10,000 civilians and combatants and left about 24,000 injured. Enditem