In addition, there appear to be large discrepancies in figures provided by different local authorities. For example, in the Luhansk region, hospitals and morgues reported, at least, 439 killed as of 5 August, while in an interview published on 6 August, the acting head of the Luhansk regional state administration said that “among civilians in Luhansk region in general… one and a half thousand were killed” since mid-April.120 Reports of medical establishments from the areas under the control of the armed groups do not distinguish between civilian and military casualties. A gender imbalance of casualties reported by these establishments (as of 11 August, women comprised 11% of killed and 13% of wounded in the Donetsk region)121 may indicate that members of the armed groups who are predominantly male constitute a considerable part of these casualties. On the other hand, women comprise a large proportion of the internally displaced (IDPs) who have left the areas of fighting. The cities of Donetsk and Luhansk continued to account for the majority of fatalities, but a number of other settlements were also severely affected by fighting. For instance, in Horlivka, 52 persons, including 9 children, were killed, and 170 wounded between 27 July and 10 August.122 According to people who had left Pervomaisk, 200 people had been killed in the town, and more than 400 wounded since 22 July, with the dead being buried in courtyards.123 C.Evacuation of civilians Beginning on 29 July, the Ukrainian armed forces established special “corridors” to allow civilians to leave Donetsk, Horlivka (Donetsk region) and Luhansk city where there was heavy fighting. However, these corridors traverse areas where there is fighting and casualties have been reported. This raises concerns about the security of such corridors to ensure safe passage for those wishing to flee the hostilities. The exact number of people who have used the corridors so far is not known. According to the Luhansk regional administration, during the week of 4-10 August, more than 4,000 people left Luhansk using the corridor, and 7,000 by 13 August. Trains continued to run intermittently from Donetsk, enabling people to leave that city. Estimates suggest that about half the population of Donetsk and Luhansk cities has left. The remaining population in these cities is estimated at 200-500 thousand in Donetsk, and about 250,000 in Luhansk. The evacuation of institutionalized children started too late and was not properly coordinated as it was conducted by various ministries. During the reporting period, some additional efforts were undertaken to evacuate 138 children and 26 young people housed in institutions in the area of hostilities. In addition, 128 family-type institutions were evacuated. As of 15 August, 119 children remained in institutions in the area of the security operation, according to the RNBO spokesperson. As previously reported, the armed groups have allegedly prevented the evacuation of institutionalized children to other parts of Ukraine. On 13 August, it was reported that eight children (aged 8 months to 2 years) from a Luhansk institution who were taken to the Russian Federation on 8 August 2014, by the supporters of Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), had safely returned to Ukraine following efforts by of the Ukrainian Ombudsperson, the Russian Federation Ombudsperson, the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don. Evacuation of institutionalized older persons and persons with disabilities has not been given adequate attention, and it is not known how many remain in the hostilities area. On 13 August, 120 The HRMMU tried to receive information about primary data behind this estimate, with no success. The breakdown of statistics is not available for the Luhansk region. 122 According to the health department of the city council. 123 Interviewed by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SSM) on 11 August. 121 203 | P a g e