ANKARA
More than 39,000 people were killed since the beginning of 2014 during Syria’s ongoing civil war, a Syrian human rights body said Friday.
According to the Syrian Network of Human Rights, at least 39,021 people were killed during the conflict in the strife-ridden country this year.
Out of the total, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime killed 32,507. The death toll of civilians was 24,430, including 3,629 children and 3,714 women; 8,077 of the 32,507 were opposition fighters.
Besides airstrikes on civilians, the regime forces also carried out attacks using snipers, cluster bombs, and poisonous gas, the report said.
The regime was also blamed for the execution of medical staff and local media.
The report also included figures of human rights’ violations carried out by opposition groups fighting the Assad regime. The opposition was blamed for the deaths of at least 1,257 people, out of which 1,183 were said to be civilians, including 291 children and 242 women.
About the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorist group, the report said ISIL attacks in Raqqah, Hasakah, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor claimed 3,557 lives, out of which 915 were civilians, including 132 children, 79 women, 11 activists and 2,642 opposition fighters.
The Nusra Front also killed 124 civilians and 29 opposition fighters.
The report also documented human rights' violations of Syrian Kurdish opposition groups, including The Democratic Union Party or the PYD’s forced recruitment drive and arbitrary arrests. The PYD was blamed for the deaths of at least 110 people, including 102 civilians and eight opposition fighters.
The U.S.-led international coalition airstrikes since December killed 40 civilians, including eight children and six women in Raqqah, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib provinces.
The report also said that 1,397 people died during various bombardments and illegal migration to overseas.
The figures provided by the Syrian non-governmental organization could not be independently verified.
Street protests, ruthlessly repressed by the Assad regime, turned into a bloody civil war in Syria which has so far claimed more than 150,000 lives.
The unrest has led to a civil war fought by a fragmented opposition.
It also paved the way for ISIL to gain a foothold in the region.
www.aa.com.tr/en
