By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

DAMASCUS, Syria – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog human rights organization based in the United Kingdom, reports that the death toll from the Syrian Civil War, which has raged on for nearly four years, now exceeds 210,060 deaths. The group noted Saturday that the actual figures are likely much higher. According to the Observatory, which has networks of reporters operating within Syria, the lives of at least 10,664 children and 6,783 women have been lost over the past four years. The Observatory also reported that 35,827 Syrian rebels and 45,385 Syrian army soldiers have been killed in the civil war. 24,989 foreign jihadist fighters from radical Sunni rebel groups including the Nusra Front and Islamic State of Syria and the Levant have also been killed. The group’s Chief, Abdul Rahman said all the cases included in its 210,000 deaths reported were those it could verify with either name and identification documents, or pictures or videos. According to the Observatory, at least 1.5 million Syrians have some type of injury and permanent disability as a result of the war.

The brutal killings of Syrian civilians began when peaceful protests began calling for democratic reforms after four decades of rule by the family of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The protests, which began in March 2011 followed an organic rise in protests and democratic demonstrations that began in Tunisia and became known as the Arab Spring. The Assad regime responded to the peaceful protests with brutal crackdowns and attacks on civilians and degenerated into an armed insurgency. Syria had a population of approximately 23 million before the outbreak of the deadly civil war. At least 3.73 million Syrians have fled the country and have been officially registered as refugees abroad.

While the world’s attention remains on the horrific attacks committed by extremists groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), attention on the atrocities committed by the Assad regime have waned in recent months, despite the regime’s continued use of tactics aimed at targeting and punishing civilian populations perceived to be loyal to rebel groups. Deadly barrel bomb attacks on crowded areas populated by civilians have already been reported in Syrian cities this year, including in the northern city of Aleppo.

Marie Harf, a spokesperson for the United States Department of State condemned the Assad regime’s latest barrel bomb attacks. “These attacks show an utter disregard for human life,” she said, arguing that “there can never be a stable, inclusive Syria under the leadership of this ruthless dictator. … Assad has lost all legitimacy and must go.”

For more information please see:

The Denver Post – Death Toll Mounts, Attention Wanes in Syria’s Bloody Civil War – 7 February 2015

Global News Canada – Death Toll in Syria’s Civil War keeps rising as World Focuses on Islamic State – 7 February 2015

The Irish Times – Syria Death Toll Exceeds 210,000, Says Human Rights Group – 7 February 2015

Reuters – Syria Death Toll Now Exceeds 210,000: Rights Group – 7 February 2015