Last Updated: Monday, 05 June 2023, 10:55 GMT

About 39,000 people killed in Syria in 2017, monitor says

Publisher Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Publication Date 28 December 2017
Cite as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, About 39,000 people killed in Syria in 2017, monitor says, 28 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a9fc6e9a.html [accessed 5 June 2023]
DisclaimerThis is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

December 28, 2017 16:44 GMT

A Syrian child smiles as men dressed in Santa Claus costumes walk past destroyed buildings in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa on December 26.A Syrian child smiles as men dressed in Santa Claus costumes walk past destroyed buildings in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa on December 26.

A monitoring group says that about 39,000 people, including 10,507 civilians, were killed in the Syrian war in 2017.

The fatalities included 2,109 children and 1,492 women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on December 28.

The opposition-linked group, which monitors casualties on all sides of the conflict, said the tally also included 2,923 Syrian government soldiers as well as 7,494 militant fighters, mainly members of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and an Al-Qaeda-linked outfit.

This year's fatalities marked a decline from 2016, when the observatory said it had documented 49,742 deaths in Syria's violence.

Syria's civil war has killed some 400,000 people since it began with antigovernment demonstrations in March 2011.

The conflict has also displaced about half of Syria's prewar population of 22 million and created the worst refugee crisis since World War II, with some 5 million Syrians having fled the country.

Russia and Iran support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the war, while the United States and Turkey back differing rebel groups.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

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