UNITED NATIONS: Nearly 300,000 people have been displaced in Ukraine with over five million living in conflict-affected areas, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said humanitarian needs in areas under the control of armed groups are significant, with local organisations and Red Cross teams having nearly exhausted their supplies, Xinhua news agency reports.
“Some areas in the east have limited or no access to drinking water and diesel generators are needed to power water pumps and treatment units,” Dujarric said.
The office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will release a report on Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland this Friday on the situation in Ukraine for the Aug 18 to Sept 16 period.
Military clashes between Ukrainian government troops and independence-seeking militia which started in March in the eastern parts of the country have claimed at least 2,600 lives and displaced some 260,000 people.
Eastern towns such as Donetsk and Luhansk are among the worst affected areas with almost 94 percent of civilians displaced. –BERNAMA