20:30, 4 April 2020

Since 2017, the SMM has recorded about 300 civilian casualties

Since the beginning of 2020, 12 deaths have been recorded in Donbas as a result of the mines explosion. This was announced by the head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission Yashar Halit Cevik.

According to Cevik, in 2019 mines and other explosive ordnance led to 48 victims, including 10 children.

“In light of the call of the UN Secretary General, Antoniu Guterres, to support a wider fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus, right now, as never before, the signatories of the Minsk agreements must fulfill their commitments to withdraw existing mines and refrain from establishing new ones,” Cevik said.

It has been noted that starting in 2017, the SMM recorded about 300 civilian casualties from the operation of mines and unexploded ordnance.

Ambassador Cevik also welcomed the recent clearance at disengagements sites in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, but emphasized that “more needs to be done.”

“There is an urgent need for mine action in places of concentration of citizens, in particular near schools, hospitals and checkpoints of entry and exit along the contact line,” he added.

© 112 UA 2020