Casualty figures reveal Aleppo, Damascus suburbs as most deadly

SLICE OF LIFE: Each week, the Violations Documentation Center issues a “Martyrs Report” roughly documenting casualties around Syria. Last week, Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs were the most deadly fronts, with the majority of the 316 Syrians killed from those areas.

As fighting rages across the country and battles with the Islamic State grab the headlines, hundreds of Syrian citizens are killed by shooting (33.5 percent – the top cause of death), followed by air strikes that include barrel bombs (27 percent) and thirdly by torture in regime detention centers (19.5 percent).

Of all the casualties listed in the VDC’s report, 74 percent were civilians, though the Center does not document regime soldier deaths.

The high casualty count in Aleppo last week reflects heavy fighting in the province’s eponymous capital, as FSA rebels destroyed a regime base on August 18, while the regime pounded the city with barrel bombs the same day.

Farther north in Aleppo, the Islamic State (IS) tried to capitalize on its recent gains in the province by bombing the FSA-controlled towns of Sawran and Marea, in anticipation of moving farther north and capturing the border town of Azaz. The regime bombed IS strongholds in al-Bab, Akhterin and Manbij.

In the outskirts of Damascus, the regime intensified air raids last week on the cities of Deir al-Asafir, Duma, and Ain Tuma, and the Islamic Union for Soldiers of the Levant took control over regime-controlled territory in Harasta following heavy fighting.

The Violation Documentation Center in Syria does not count fatalities from the regime or any associated party, such as Hezbollah or Iraqi militia groups.

The VDC cautions in its report that “these figures are not final in any way, and they are subject to continuous and periodic scrutiny.” The report is available here.

-August 28, 2014

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