The United Nations on Mar 27 said that more than 9,000 civilians have been killed in the Syrian government’s yearlong assault on protesters opposed to President Bashar Assad, an increase of nearly 1,000 over its previous estimate. “Violence on the ground has continued unabated, resulting in scores of people killed and injured,” Robert Serry, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the 15-nation Security Council. “Credible estimates put the total death toll since the beginning of the uprising one year ago to more than 9,000,” he said. “It is urgent to stop the fighting and prevent a further violent escalation of the conflict.” The previous UN estimate was that more than 8,000 civilians had been killed.
Serry also referred to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s announcement earlier on Tuesday that the Syrian government had accepted the former UN secretary-general’s six-point peace plan. “Immediate steps are needed now from the Syrian government to act on their commitments and demonstrate to the Syrian people that they are ready for a cessation of violence and a political process, issues on which (Annan) will also engage the opposition,” Serry said.