More than 6,000 people have died in Syria since mid-March in clashes between government-controlled security forces and protesters demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, the Arabic Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Friday, citing non-government world-wide organization (NGO) Avaaz.
According to Avaaz, “6,237 Syrians were killed all over the country, more than 69,000 were thrown in jails” from March 15 to December 9, 2011 as a result of the intensifying unrest.
Avaaz notes that one of every 300 Syrians has been either imprisoned or killed during the first nine months of the conflict in the country. The report noted that only 32,000 prisoners have been released so far.
Every case of arrest or death included in the report was confirmed by three independent sources, as well as relatives of those who died, the executive director of Avaaz said.
Meanwhile, two powerful explosions rocked the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday morning, killing 30 and injuring 55. According to Syrian state television, the blasts were carried out by suicide car bombers.
The attacks, the first suicide operations to took place in Syria since the country’s anti-government protests began nine months ago, targeted the security forces.
The United Nations says Assad’s crackdown on the protests has killed more than 5,000 people. The authorities blame armed gangs for the violence and say 1,100 soldiers and police have been killed.
