Paris, June 13 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The number of documented deaths resulting from the conflict in Syria between March 2011 and the end of April 2013 has reached 92,901, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay announced Thursday.
“The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels – with more than 5,000 killings documented every month since last July, including a total of just under 27,000 new killings since December 1,” Pillay said.
“Unfortunately, as the study indicates, this is most likely a minimum casualty figure. The true number of those killed is potentially much higher.”
The latest study, carried out by specialists on behalf of the UN Human Rights Office, updates an earlier one which listed some 60,000 documented deaths up to Nov 30, 2012.
It was conducted using a combined list of 263,055 reported killings, the final results only listing victims fully identified by name, as well as the date and location of the death.
Any reported killing that did not include at least these three elements was excluded from the list, which was compiled using data from eight different sources, UNHRO said in a statement on its website.
The statistical analysts who produced the report noted that despite the possibility of some duplicate or erroneously reported deaths being included, the total is likely to be an underestimate of the actual toll.
“This conclusion is based on the fact that 37,988 reported killings containing insufficient information were excluded from the analysis, and that there is a strong likelihood that a significant number of killings may not have been reported at all by any of the eight sources,” UNHRO said.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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