Observatory Estimates 340,000 Killed in Syrian War

Over 100,000 Civilians Among the Slain

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported on Friday that they have a new estimated on the overall death toll of the Syrian War since March 2011, saying they’ve documented 343,511 deaths, with over 100,000 civilians among the killed.

The split on the figures shows that pro-government forces are taking the biggest brunt among combatants, with 119,000 pro-government fighters killed, including Syrian troops, militia members, and Hezbollah fighters.

On the rebel side, about 59,000 “rebels” were reported killed, along with 62,200 Islamists. Though the difference between he two isn’t always clear, generally speaking Islamists includes ISIS and al-Qaeda, while rebels includes everyone else.

This new set of figures comes ahead of a new round of peace talks, and underscores just how much is at stake. Though it’s impossible to have totally accurate figures in the chaos of Syria, the Observatory figures show general trends, including a trend that the Islamists have been dying at a higher rate than they have in the past, likely a function of mounting ISIS losses.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.