Jun 1, 2018

Fewer civilians died in May than in any other month of Syria's seven-year war, a monitor said Friday, with less than 250 civilians killed across the country.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 244 civilians were killed last month, including 58 children and 33 women.

It was the "lowest monthly death toll for civilians since the start of the Syrian revolution" in 2011, the Britain-based monitor said.

It comes after government troops secured a string of areas around Damascus, including the former rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta in April as well as several towns to the capital's northeast and south.

Those wins came with fierce bombing campaigns over several months that left hundreds dead and even more wounded, but ultimately ended in regime victory.