KIEV, April 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 48 civilians were killed in landmine incidents in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of 2017, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Friday.
Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters that 41 people, including two children, lost their lives as a result of explosions of mines or unexploded ordnance in 2017, while seven others were killed so far this year.
Besides, 121 civilians were injured in the landmine incidents in the past 15 months, Hug said, urging the conflicting parties to facilitate humanitarian de-mining.
The OSCE stands ready to provide assistance in the de-mining process to reduce civilian casualties and enable infrastructure repairs, Hug added.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the East European country will need 10 to 15 years to clear the landmines that had been planted during the conflict that raged between government troops and pro-independence insurgents since April 2014.
The hostilities have left about 16,000 square kilometers of land in Donbas contaminated with explosive remnants of war, making Ukraine one of the most landmine-contaminated countries in the world.
