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)
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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.



Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Syria's new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.
The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step "comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
No details were immediately available about Shibani.
Syria's de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the UN's Syria envoy and senior US diplomats.
Sharaa has signaled a willingness to engage diplomatically with international envoys, saying his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development. He has said he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were glad to see groups led by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) topple Assad.