Over 115,000 Syrians reported killed in conflict

Human rights group says 41,000 civilians, including 4,000 women and 6,000 children, among fatalities

By Adiv Sterman and AP 1 October 2013, 5:44 pm

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A woman cries at the scene of an explosion in Reyhanli, Syria, on Saturday, May 11, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Anadolu Agency, Cem Genco)

Over 115,000 Syrians have been killed since civil war broke out in the country two and a half year ago, a humanitarian group monitoring the region said Tuesday, according to Reuters.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, some 47,000 soldiers and fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and an additional 23,000 rebel fighters are among the dead. The Observatory added that 41,000 civilians had been killed during the conflict, including 4,000 women and 6,000 children. Another 3,000 casualties were unidentified, the group said.

Around 5,000 people were killed in the month of September alone, Reuters reported, despite international efforts to begin destruction of the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons stockpiles after a sarin gas attack on August 21 left hundreds dead in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted last week to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.

Inspectors charged with the enormous task of overseeing the destruction of Syria’s deadly chemical weapons stockpiles kicked off their mission Monday, racing to meet tight deadlines against the backdrop of the civil war.

For the first time, the Security Council also endorsed a roadmap for a political transition in Syria adopted by key nations in June 2012 and called for an international conference to be convened “as soon as possible” to implement it.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has set mid-November as a target date for a new peace conference in Geneva.