Reuters, Geneva

Tue Jun 28, 2022 06:16 PM Last update on: Tue Jun 28, 202206:19 PM

TheUN human rights office said on Tuesday that 306,887 civilians had been killedin Syria during the conflict since March 2011 in what it said was the highestestimate yet.

Syria'sconflict sprung out of peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad'srule in March 2011 and morphed into a multi-sided, protracted conflict thatsucked in world powers.

Thefrontlines have been mostly frozen for years but violence is ongoing and thehumanitarian crisis grinds on with millions still displaced within Syria'sborders.

UNhuman rights chief Michelle Bachelet said its latest analysis would give a"clearer sense of the severity and scale of the conflict".

Thetoll included those killed as a direct result of war operations and not thosewho died from lack of healthcare or access to food or clean water. Nor did itinclude non-civilian deaths.

Thetop cause of civilian deaths was from so-called "multiple weapons"(35.1%) which includes clashes, ambushes and massacres, a UN report thataccompanied the statement showed. The second cause of death was by heavyweapons (23.3%).