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26May/14

Syria’s Mind-Boggling Numbers

There are more than 150,000 ‘documented’ deaths in the civil war. The real number is likely much higher

Wall Street Journal

They arrive every day, the body counts from Syria, consistent and painful: 141, 201, 152, 81 (a lucky day, that last one). But somewhere along the way we stopped paying attention. Perhaps it’s because it’s no longer clear who’s pulling the trigger; who is killed and who remains at large, kidnapped by another pro-regime battalion or the latest murderous jihadi group.The world is getting tired of this war, and the Syrians appear to be tired from fighting. Last week was a relatively “quiet” week, by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’s count. Nineteen civilians, including 11 children and two women, were killed by aerial bombardment in Om al-Amad. A child was killed by sniper fire in the Jam’iah al-Zahraa area and a woman in al-Wafdin. Another child was killed by a mortar in the al-Neirab camp, and two children and a woman were killed by the regime’s bombardment of Soran. A dozen other tragedies of this sort add up to a weekly death rate in the low 30s—a decent “weather” report in Syria.April’s count, which marked the third year of the Syrian uprising, was much bloodier. Take the last week of April: A Syrian government missile slammed into the Ein Jalout elementary school in the eastern part of Aleppo, according to Al Jazeera, killing at least 19 people, including 10 children. This happened as teachers and students were preparing an exhibit of children’s drawings depicting Syria at war. A day earlier, al Nusra claimed responsibility for twin car-bombings that killed at least 79 civilians in Homs. Another 21 fighters from the government-funded, Alawite-manned National Defense Force were killed in other battles.In the previous week, Tarek Ghrair, aged 15, was killed when a mortar exploded near the Homs football stadium. Nine people in total were reportedly killed in the blast. Tarek was a promising young footballer and so the Syrian Football Association published its condolences. As for the others, it seems that no one found the time to mention their names. Continue reading