New York-Sana: The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine announced that the number of civilian casualties in September rose by 85 percent compared to the same month last year, due to Russian strikes, warning of the repercussions of continued attacks on energy facilities as winter approaches and the potential for a new wave of displacement.
The UN News Centre, citing the mission's monthly report issued yesterday Friday, stated that it verified the death of 328 civilians and the injury of 2,105 others in September, due to attacks targeting 22 Ukrainian regions, in addition to the capital Kyiv, which saw civilian injuries over 22 days of the month, a rate not recorded since the start of the war.
Warnings of continued attacks
The Centre quoted the head of the mission, Danielle Bell, as saying that the first two weeks of October witnessed one of the bloodiest periods for civilians in years, due to successive attacks that caused large numbers of casualties in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, and Kyiv regions. The September toll also included the death of 18 civilians and the injury of 44 others in areas of Ukraine under Russian control.
Bell warned of continued attacks on electricity and heating infrastructure, noting that Russian forces targeted energy facilities across Ukraine, particularly in two attacks on October 13 and 14, while Ukrainian forces targeted similar facilities in areas under Russian control. She affirmed that the continuation of these attacks as winter approaches will increase civilian suffering and threaten their access to essential services.
Fears of new displacement
For her part, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to the UN Centre, warned that Ukrainians who returned to their homes after displacement due to the war face the risk of being forced to leave again during the winter, due to damage to housing, repeated attacks on energy facilities, and rising heating costs. The organization explained that the desire to leave the country again is highest among those who returned during the past three months.
The organization stated that approximately 3.6 million people remain internally displaced in Ukraine, while about 3.8 million have returned to their places of residence after displacement since February 2022. The UN had affirmed on October 8 that attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, calling for an immediate halt and the protection of civilians and essential infrastructure and services.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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