Story highlights President Duterte has been waging a bloody crackdown on dealers and users

Nearly 4,000 of the deaths were extrajudicial or vigilante-style killings

Manila, Philippines (CNN) There have been 5,927 deaths linked to the "war on drugs" in the Philippines since July 1 according to statistics released by the national police on Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte was elected to office in May on a platform of cracking down on crime, particularly illegal drugs. Since taking office in early June , his police force has waged a bloody war on drug dealers and users, resulting in the deaths of thousands of suspects at the hands of police and vigilantes.

The figures released by the Philippine National Police Monday span the period from July 1 to December 12.

Of the total, 2,086 were killed in police operations and 3,841 in extrajudicial or vigilante-style killings. More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested.

'Helplessness'

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