Syrian Civil War Killed 400,000, UN Envoy Says
KABUL: (MEP) The United Nations special envoy for Syria has estimated that 400,000 people have been killed throughout the last five years of civil war, a shocking figure that underscores the war’s carnage — and is far higher than the previous U.N. toll of 250,000 calculated a year and a half ago.
Speaking on the sidelines of Syria peace talks in the Swiss city of Geneva on Friday, Staffan de Mistura said the figure was based on his “own analysis” and thus “not verified.”
“We had 250,000 as a figure two years ago,” said de Mistura. “Well two years ago was two years ago.”
The UN no longer keeps track of the death toll due to the inaccessibility of many areas and the complications of navigating conflicting statistics put forward by the Syrian government and armed opposition groups.
De Mistura also appealed to all involved parties to help revamp negotiations between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups.
The UN envoy’s figure was close to a February calculation by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, which said the crisis in the Middle Eastern state has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people.
De Mistura’s remarks come as an uptick of fighting between the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the rebel groups working to unseat him has all-but unravelled the fragile cessation of hostilities agreement, sponsored by the United States and Russia, that went into effect on Feb. 27.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Damascus says Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are the main supporters of the militants fighting the government forces.
