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Syria’s War Killed Over 3,700 in 2021

A displaced person living in a cave in an archaeological area in Idlib, northwest Syria (Reuters)
A displaced person living in a cave in an archaeological area in Idlib, northwest Syria (Reuters)
    Beirut, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Syria’s War Killed Over 3,700 in 2021

A displaced person living in a cave in an archaeological area in Idlib, northwest Syria (Reuters)
A displaced person living in a cave in an archaeological area in Idlib, northwest Syria (Reuters)

The Syrian war killed 3,746 people in 2021, a monitor said Wednesday, significantly fewer than in 2020, which had already seen the decade-old war's lowest death toll.

According to figures compiled by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 1,505 of them were civilians and among those 360 were children.

Land mines and explosive objects constitute an issue in the war, as the Landmine Monitor said in November that Syria had overtaken Afghanistan as the country with the highest number of recorded casualties from landmines and other explosive remnants of the war.

The 2021 death toll shows a significant decrease compared to the year before, during which the Observatory recorded the deaths of more than 6,800 people.

The Syrian conflict in 2019 killed more than 10,000 people, while the year 2014 recorded the death of 70,000 people, the highest annual toll of the war.

According to SOHR figures, 600 members of the regime forces and more than 300 fighters from groups loyal to them have died this year.

The Observatory also recorded the deaths of about 600 ISIS terrorists and other extremist factions, compared to 158 from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and about 370 fighters of the opposition and Islamic factions.

The total death toll decreased during 2020 and 2021 due to the decline in the intensity of battles in several areas, especially in the Idlib governorate.

Although a ceasefire was announced in March 2020 in the region, it has been subjected to numerous violations.

Since 2011, the conflict in Syria has killed nearly half a million people and driven more than half of the population to flee within or outside Syria.

Meanwhile, a man succumbed to his injuries in al-Qamishly hospitals due to Turkish bombardment on Zarkan town in the northwestern countryside of al-Hasakah, bringing the death toll to four civilians, including a girl and a woman.

Furthermore, SOHR documented the death of three Turkish-backed “National Army” members after bombardment by SDF on their position near Turkish posts in “Peace Spring” areas in the Hasakah countryside.

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Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)

Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to their homes amid celebrations hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah group took effect early Wednesday morning.

The ceasefire has brought relief across the nation, coming after days of some of the most intense airstrikes and clashes since the war began, though many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.

Hundreds of cars made their way into southern Lebanon, defying a warning from the Israeli army to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.

“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”

At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north.

Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday.

Ahmed Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.”

Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.

Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire can be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.

A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.

In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.