The death toll in Syria’s three-year conflict has exceeded 162,000, a pro-opposition watchdog said on Monday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it has documented 162,402 deaths in the conflict, which started in March 2011.
The report says the figure includes civilians, rebels and members of the Syrian military forces.
The observatory said a third of those killed, or 53,978, were non-combatants, including 8,607 children.
Over 60,000 of the dead were fighting for President Bashar al-Assad, including 37,685 regular soldiers, 23,485 members of loyalist militias and 1,662 mainly Shiite foreign fighters.
On the opposition side, the figure included 29,172 Syrian rebel fighters as well as 13,529 Sunni Islamist fighters from outside Syria.
The Syrian conflict started with peaceful anti-government demonstrations in March 2011 but degenerated into violence as government forces cracked down on protesters.
However since then, it has tapped into sectarian tensions and regional rivalries.
Shiite groups from Lebanon and Iraq, who were loyal to Iran’s Islamist regime, al-Assad’s main ally, have sent fighters to back up his overstretched forces, while Sunni militants from other countries have joined jihadist groups fighting in Syria. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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