In this March 8, 2012 file photo, a boy named Ahmed mourns his father, Abdulaziz Abu Ahmed Khrer, who was killed by Syrian army sniper, at his funeral in Idlib. More than 100,000 people have been killed since the start of Syria’s conflict over two years ago Picture: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd
THE civil war in Syria has now killed more than 100,000 people, a grim new estimate that comes at a time when the conflict is spreading beyond its borders and hopes are fading for a settlement to end the bloodshed.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been tracking the death toll through a network of activists in the country, said most of the 100,191 killed in the last 27 months were combatants.
The regime losses were estimated at nearly 43,000, including pro-government militias and 169 fighters from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group – a recent entrant in the conflict.
The Observatory said 36,661 of the dead are civilians. Recorded deaths among the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad reached more than 18,000, including 2518 foreign fighters.
