More than 3,00,000 civilians killed in Syria's conflict: United Nations

A report published by the UN Human Rights Office followed what it said were rigorous assessment and statistical analysis of available data on civilian casualties.

The first 10 years of Syria's conflict, which began in 2011, killed more than 3,00,000 civilians, the United Nations said on June 28 — the highest official estimate to date of conflict-related civilian deaths in the country.

Syria's conflict began with anti-government protests that broke out in March 2011 in various parts of the country, demanding democratic reforms following Arab Spring protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain that removed some Arab leaders who had been in power for decades. However, it quickly turned into a full-blown civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed large parts of the country.

Tuesday's report published by the UN Human Rights Office followed what it said were rigorous assessment and statistical analysis of available data on civilian casualties. According to the report, 3,06,887 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Syria between March 1, 2011, and March 31, 2021, because of the conflict.

The figures released by the United Nations do not include soldiers and insurgents killed in the conflict; their numbers are believed to be in the tens of thousands. The numbers also do not include people who were killed and buried by their families without notifying authorities.

“These are the people killed as a direct result of war operations. This does not include the many, many more civilians who died due to the loss of access to healthcare, to food, to clean water and other essential human rights,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

The report, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, cited 1,43,350 civilian deaths individually documented by various sources with detailed information, including at least their full name, date and location of death.