Close to 126,000 killed in Syria war
A man holds up a broken wooden structure in a burnt makeshift Syrian refugee camp after it was attacked by residents of the neighbouring eastern Lebanese village of Qsar Naba near Zahle in the Bekaa valley, on December 2, 2013. The toll in 33 months of Syria’s brutal conflict has left nearly 126,000 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The group, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and doctors on the ground in Syria, said it had documented 125,835 deaths in the conflict up to December 1
- The group said at least 27,746 opposition fighters had been killed, among them just over 19,000 Syrian civilians who took up arms to battle President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and 2,221 army defectors and 6,261 non-Syrians who have joined the rebel side
- The Observatory said it had also recorded an additional 2,781 deaths of unidentified individuals. The bloody conflict in Syria began in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government protests inspired by similar movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya
- The US-Russian peace initiative dubbed Geneva 2, which should bring government and rebel representatives to the negotiating table in a bid to end the bloody 32-month war, is being planned for January 22
BEIRUT
The toll in 33 months of Syria’s brutal conflict has left nearly 126,000 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
The group, which relies on a network of activists, lawyers and doctors on the ground in Syria, said it had documented 125,835 deaths in the conflict up to December 1.
The dead include 44,381 civilians, among them 6,627 children and 4,454 women.
The group said at least 27,746 opposition fighters had been killed, among them just over 19,000 Syrian civilians who took up arms to battle President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The opposition toll also includes 2,221 army defectors and 6,261 non-Syrians who have joined the rebel side.
The regime side saw nearly double the overall losses of the opposition, with the Observatory documenting 50,927 dead among those fighting for Assad’s government.
That figure includes 31,174 soldiers, and 19,256 members of Syrian pro-regime militia.
The group said it had also documented the deaths of 232 members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, and 265 other non-Syrian Shiite fighters battling alongside the regime.
The Observatory said it had also recorded an additional 2,781 deaths of unidentified individuals. The bloody conflict in Syria began in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government protests inspired by similar movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
It spiralled into a brutal civil war after Assad’s government used force to put down the demonstrations and the opposition took up arms.
The bloody conflict in Syria began in March 2011, with peaceful anti-government protests inspired by similar movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It spiralled into a brutal civil.
APPROVAL FIRST
Meanwhile, no solution proposed at Syria peace talks next month will be implemented without President Bashar al-Assad’s approval, the deputy foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.
“The Syrian (government) delegation at Geneva will be working under Assad’s directives, and any solutions proposed will have no impact unless Assad approves of them,” Faisal Muqdad said in remarks in Syrian press.
He lashed out at Western calls for Assad to step down, saying the president “represents Syria’s sovereignty and unity”.
The US-Russian peace initiative dubbed Geneva 2, which should bring government and rebel representatives to the negotiating table in a bid to end the bloody 32-month war, is being planned for January 22.
