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UN says at least 350K killed in Syria’s war, 'certainly an undercount'

The United Nations' human rights office on Friday updated the death toll from Syria's civil war for the first time since August 2014.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images
Civilians and a members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) evacuate a victim killed in reported artillery bombardment by Syrian regime forces in the northern rebel-held city of Afrin on Aug. 18, 2021. — BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

The United Nations has counted more than 350,000 deaths from Syria’s ruinous civil war, a figure the UN human rights chief acknowledged on Friday is a major undercount. 

The body hasn’t released an official death toll from the conflict since August 2014’s count of 191,369 civilian and combatant deaths. Shortly after, the UN suspended its monitoring work as the situation on the ground grew more dangerous. 

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