KIEV, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The conflict between government troops and pro-independence rebels in eastern Ukraine has left thousands missing, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday.
"Three years after the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, several thousand people are still missing, although the exact number is not known," the ICRC said in a statement.
According to the statement, over 600 cases of missing persons are currently registered with the ICRC, with around half of them being civilians.
Formally, 410 Ukrainians are listed as missing by the country's State Security Service.
Last month, Vadym Chernysh, Ukrainian minister responsible for dealing with issues concerning areas that slip beyond Kiev's control, said that the number of people on both sides of the contact line whose whereabouts are unknown may be as high as 4,000.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has been underway since April 2014, has claimed some 10,000 lives.
