World News in Brief: Afghan-Pakistan border clashes latest, murder of Iraqi women’s rights activist condemned, Chile leprosy milestone

© UN Women/Sayed Habib Bidell Women and girls cross the Islam Qala border, from Iran into Afghanistan. (file) Facebook Twitter Print Email Clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have continued for a seventh straight day, with humanitarian access to affected areas still restricted, the UN said on Wednesday. Aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that casualty figures “cannot yet be independently verified” due to limited access.  Schools and markets in several border districts remain closed amid ongoing instability, while mortar fire has forced families to flee villages in northwest Pakistan.  Aid operations in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been temporarily suspended, although assistance continues in the south of the province. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, on Tuesday reiterated its call for a halt to the cross-border clashes. UNAMA also calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and to ensure the protection of civilians. In Afghanistan, cross-border shelling and airstrikes have reportedly caused civilian casualties and damage to homes. In Nangarhar Province, five civilians, including children, were injured near the Torkham crossing, while two others were wounded in Nazyan district. “Civilians must be protected at all times, as well as civilian infrastructure,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stressed. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that further escalation could worsen one of the world’s largest returnee crises, with more than five million Afghans returning over the past two years, placing severe strain on already overstretched communities. The UN has condemned the killing in Baghdad earlier this week of internationally renowned women’s rights activist, Yanar Mohammed, as a “heinous murder”. “This is tragic news for women human rights defenders in Iraq, in the region and beyond,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, during Wednesday’s briefing at UN Headquarters in New York. The UN human rights office, OHCHR, tweeted that they had worked closely with her and her organization, with rights chief Volker Türk calling for a prompt and transparent investigation by Iraqi authorities, together with full accountability. According to news reports, Ms. Mohammed was shot by unidentified gunmen who opened fire from a motorcycle outside her home in the capital. The Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq – a group she founded – said she succumbed to her wounds in hospital. The Iraqi Prime Minister has reportedly opened an investigation into the apparent assassination. “She was engaged tirelessly and with dedication to provide protection to many women victims of domestic and social violence,” said Mr. Dujarric, who sent condolences to her family and “brave colleagues”. Chile becomes only the second country in world to officially eliminate leprosy disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.