The month of May was the bloodiest month so far this year in Syria. with 6657 Syrians killed in May 2015 throughout the war-ravaged country, activists said Monday.
According to activists on the ground, the toll includes at least 1,285 civilians, more than half of whom were killed in regime air raids.
The U.N.’s Syria peace envoy Staffan de Mistura condemned government aerial bombardment of civilian areas over the weekend, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
With 6657 Syrians killed, activists said rebels and Kurdish fighters made up 793 of those killed in May, while jihadis from factions including the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front numbered 2,109.
Another 2,242 regime forces were killed, most of them soldiers.
The toll also includes 208 non-Syrian pro-regime fighters, among them forces from Hezbollah, and 20 unidentified people. Most likely Shia mercenaries from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The death toll represents an increase of more than 2,000 people compared with April of 2015, when 4,458 were killed.
May of 2015 saw several fierce offensives against government forces in the north and south of Syria, especially in the idlib province now in total control of the rebel forces.
ISIS seized the historic city of Palmyra on May 21, after a bloody nine-day offensive. After touring the infamous Palmyra prison with their cameras for the world to see the conditions under which Syrians were held, ISIS blew up the prison thus erasing Assad’s crimes and the symbol of his cruelty.
Palmyra should have remained standing as a tour stop for future generations to witness human cruelty the way the Jewish people tour Auschwitz and Dachau to remember their fallen people. Because 6657 Syrians killed in May of 2015 and so far over 300,000 killed overall, Palmyra should have remained standing.
Rebel groups led by Nusra Front secured gains against the regime throughout the northwest province of Idlib.
Since it began in March 2011, Syria’s conflict has left more than 300,000 people dead and has forced millions to flee to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.
AFP contributed to this article.
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