Observatory: Syria War Killed 6,800 in 2020

Arab World

December 31st, 11:46am

Asharq Al-Awsat

FILE PHOTO: A man watches as smoke rises after what activists said was an air strike on Atimah, Idlib province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah/File Photo

The Syrian conflict claimed at least 6,800 people in 2020, the lowest annual death toll since it began nearly a decade ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday. According to figures compiled by the UK-based organization, more than 10,000 people were killed in the conflict in 2019. The deadliest year was 2014, when more than 76,000 people died, it said. The overall tally since the start of the conflict has crept up to 387,000, including 117,000 civilians. The fighting, which erupted in 2011 after the brutal repression of anti-regime protests, has largely abated in 2020 as a ceasefire held in northwestern Syria and attention turned to containing the coronavirus pandemic. Violence continues to claim lives every week, however. On Wednesday, ISIS militants ambushed soldiers in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, killing 37 of them.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2713616/observatory-syria-war-killed-6800-2020