A new analysis carried out on behalf of the UN estimates that over 60,000 people have died since the Syrian civil war began 22 months ago.
The estimate is the much higher than other figures that have been released to date. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the death toll had reached over 40,000 as of November 22, 2012. Activists opposed to the Assad regime claim that the conflict has cost 45,000 lives, according to the AP.
The analysis listed 59,648 individuals that had lost their lives in the conflict that had occurred as of 30 November 2012. Each case was "fully identified by the first and last name of the victim, as well as the date and location of the death."
"Given there has been no let-up in the conflict since the end of November, we can assume that more than 60,000 people have been killed by the beginning of 2013,"UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Wednesday. "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking."
The joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, told reporters that he believes the death toll could reach 100,000 by 2013.
Read the full press release from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights here.
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