Total
number of people killed during the first three years probably
underestimated
“An
updated analysis carried out by data specialists on behalf of the UN
Human Rights Office has led to the compilation of a list of 191,369
cases of individuals reported killed in Syria between March 2011 and
the end of April 2014, UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Navi Pillay announced Friday.”
“'With
additional killings reported from earlier periods, in addition to the
new killings that have taken place, the total is more than double
the number documented a year ago. Nevertheless, as the report
explains, tragically it is probably an underestimate of the real
total number of people killed during the first three years of this
murderous conflict,' Pillay said.”
“The
statistical analysts who produced all three UN reports stressed that:
'The enumeration is not the complete number of conflict-related
killings in Syria.' The report says that, despite the possibility
of a small number of duplicate or erroneously reported deaths being
included, this total is likely to underestimate the actual number of
killings. This conclusion is based on the fact that 51,953
reported killings containing insufficient information were excluded
from the analysis, and that there is a strong likelihood that a
significant number of killings may not have been reported at all by
any of the five sources.”
“The
greatest number of documented killings was recorded in the
Governorate of Rural Damascus (39,393), with the next highest numbers
recorded in Aleppo (31,932), Homs (28,186), Idlib (20,040), Daraa
(18,539) and Hama (14,690).”
“The
killings of 8,803 minors, including 2,165 children under ten years
old, have been documented so far and the real total is
likely to be higher, given that in 83.8 percent of cases, the
victim’s ages have not so far been recorded.”
“'It
is scandalous that the predicament of the injured, displaced, the
detained, and the relatives of all those who have been killed or are
missing is no longer attracting much attention, despite the enormity
of their suffering,' Pillay said. 'It is a real indictment of the
age we live in that not only has this been allowed to continue so
long, with no end in sight, but it is also now impacting horrendously
on hundreds of thousands of other people across the border in
northern Iraq, and the violence has also spilled over into Lebanon.'”
“'The
killers, destroyers and torturers in Syria have been empowered and
emboldened by the international paralysis,' the High Commissioner
said. 'There are serious allegations that war crimes and crimes
against humanity have been committed time and time again with total
impunity, yet the Security Council has failed to refer the case of
Syria to the International Criminal Court, where it clearly belongs.
It is essential Governments take serious measures to halt the
fighting and deter the crimes, and above all stop fuelling this
monumental, and wholly avoidable, human catastrophe through the
provision of arms and other military supplies.'”
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