Casualties of the Syrian Civil War Exceed 280,000

According to new statistics released on Thursday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 280,000 people have lost their lives in the five-year civil war in Syria. The French news agency reported that the total number of fatalities is 282,283, of which 81,436 are civilians, including 14,000 children and more than 9,000 women. The number of casualties among non-jihadist rebel groups exceeds 48,000, while casualties among extremist groups, including foreign fighters, amount to about 47,000. The organization has also gathered evidence regarding the deaths of over 100,000 pro-government forces, of which more than 56,000 were Syrian army soldiers. The identities of approximately 3,500 other recorded casualties remain unknown. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, collects news about the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011, including casualty figures, with the help of a network of local activists across the country. This is the latest casualty figure since a temporary ceasefire was established between the regime and non-jihadist rebel groups on February 27 this year. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, several weeks after the ceasefire was established, the scale of military confrontations and casualties significantly decreased. However, with the ceasefire breaking down in some areas of Syria, armed conflicts have resumed. In a previous report published by the organization on February 23 of this year, the total casualties were reported to be 271,138. Simultaneously, on Thursday, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria warned that if the government and rebel groups do not reach an agreement on broader distribution of humanitarian aid, a large population of civilians in the country will face the risk of famine. Staffan de Mistura, after a weekly meeting of humanitarian aid and relief organizations operating under the United Nations in Geneva, stated, 'Currently, a large population of the Syrian people is at risk of famine.' Jan Egeland, Mr. de Mistura's deputy and the humanitarian coordinator for Syria, noted that this month, delivering necessary aid to residents in besieged areas has been more difficult than expected. He added, 'Out of the one million people we were supposed to reach with ground aid in May, we have only been able to access 160,000.' According to United Nations statistics, over 400,000 people live in besieged areas in Syria, most of whom are surrounded by government forces. Additionally, about 4 million others reside in areas that are difficult to access due to proximity to battlefronts or checkpoints. Since February, extensive efforts have been made to increase the volume and scope of humanitarian aid delivery to these areas, but after the fragile ceasefire established in February broke down, the distribution of this aid has faced challenges. Jan Egeland stated, 'Even in areas where the United Nations has received the necessary permissions, delivering aid to the people has encountered multiple problems.' He indicated that in other areas where the United Nations had received conditional permission to send aid, it has practically been unable to deliver this assistance to the people. Among the locations that have been inaccessible, he mentioned Ma'adhamiya in the rural areas around Damascus, Al-Waer near Homs, and the cities of Daraya and Douma. Jan Egeland added, 'I can say that the situation in besieged areas is critically dire. Children in these areas are so hungry that if we cannot deliver humanitarian aid there, they will perish.'