KIEV, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Thursday that the number of civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine has more than doubled in 2017 compared with the previous year.
"Since the beginning of this year, as of May 24, we have confirmed 225 casualties -- 44 people killed and 181 injured. In the same period last year, we confirmed 107 casualties -- 84 injuries and 23 fatalities," Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters.
The majority of civilian casualties resulted from shelling, small arms fire, mines and unexploded ordnance, Hug said.
Over the past two weeks, 22 civilians were affected by the hostilities between government troops and pro-independence rebels and six of them were killed, he added.
Overall, the three-year conflict has claimed the lives of some 10,000 people, including civilians and combatants.
