Avaaz: 6,200 killed & 69,000 detained in Syria’s crackdown

**617 confirmed killed under torture / More than 400 child casualties**



Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on Syria’s popular uprising has now claimed at least 6,237 victims and seen a further 69,000 people detained over the course of the last nine months, the global campaigning organisation Avaaz can confirm today.



These shocking new figures means that no one has been left untouched with 1 in every 300 Syrians have either killed or detained in the country since the uprising began.



Working with a team of 58 human rights monitors in Syria, in addition to partner organisations on the ground, the global campaign organisation Avaaz has verified the deaths of 6,237 people in Syria between March 15 to December 9 of this year.



Of the 69,000 detained since March, over 37,000 people remain in detention and some 32,000 people have been released, many of them bearing scars from torture and violence.



Ricken Patel, Executive Director of Avaaz, said: “With more than 6,000 dead and almost 70,000 detained in Assad's brutal prisons, no one can now turn a blind eye to the horror-show in Syria. Russia has gone too far -- delaying international action and arming Assad's death squads. 1 in every 300 Syrians has either been killed or imprisoned. The world faces a choice: it stands by while the Syrian regime continues to slaughter people or it steps up the pressure to force Assad out.”



Clashes between regime forces and armed revolutionaries has lead to at least 917 deaths over Syria’s 9-month uprising, with the city of Homs having seen almost 40% of all deaths and together with Daraa and Hama witnessing the large bulk of civilian casualties.



The figures reveal the alarming conditions under which prisoners are held -- Avaaz has verified the deaths of 617 people under torture, including 39 children. Only two people died in detention without having been tortured.



Avaaz's research, which is consulted on by the UN for its own death toll, adheres to a strict verification process. Each death is confirmed by three independent sources, including a family member of the deceased and the imam who performed the funeral procession.



ENDS



For further information about how all our figures were recorded, please contact Wissam Tarif on +961 71 688 549 or wissam@avaaz.org.



For other information please contact Will Davies on +44 7855 419901 or will@avaaz.org; Sam Barratt on +44 7909 836139 or sam.barratt@avaaz.org.



Notes to editors

A map of the death toll can be found here

Death toll breakdown: Death toll (including Syrian army loyal to Al Assad, Military security forces, National Security Forces, Political Security forces, Shabeha, Informers and resistance): 6,237



City-by-city:

Homs: 2582

Hama: 813

Daraa: 1259

Damascus: 18 (including Palestinian refugee camp Yarmuk and Al Hajar Al Aswad Golan Heights camp)

Damascus suburbs: 116

Lattakia: 208

Aleppo: 19

Aien Al Arab (Kubani): 13

Baniyas: 8

Idlib: 886

Deir Ezzor: 117

Al Bou Kamal: 46

Hassaki: 17

Qamishli: 7

Raqaa: 26

Bodies in Teshreen Military Hosiptal 102



Men: 5,361

Women: 473

Children: 403



Regime forces: 917



FSA: 36 names confirmed



Killed under torture: 617, including 39 children