UN: Over 100,000 Likely Killed in Syria War

UN Rights Chief Says Number Likely 'Underestimates' Toll

United Nations officials issued a statement today saying that “at least 93,000” people had been killed through the end of April in the ongoing Syrian Civil War, and that the number was almost certainly over 100,000 by now.

The figures rest on claims of an “average” of 5,000 deaths a month, even though actual deaths toll are rarely reported beyond occasional claims of “massacres” from either side, and even those are impossible to independently verify.

Still, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said that the toll reflected the “deteriorating” situation in the nation, adding that he believes the number is likely an “underestimate” of the true toll.

Claims of death tolls in such wars have often been dicey, especially with rebels trying to hype large tolls to coax additional foreign aid. In Libya, for instance, the rebels claimed 50,000 deaths, but in the end the body count was only a few hundred, with about a thousand additional people “missing” and unaccounted for.

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.