The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based non-governmental organization, announced today that some 511.000 people have been killed during the war in Syria, which began seven years ago.
The Observatory, which records the death toll using a network of contacts inside Syria, said it had identified more than 350.000 deaths and the rest were cases where it knew there were deaths but did not know the names of the victims.
The conflict erupted after mass demonstrations on March 15, 2011 involving regional and global forces and forcing millions of people - more than 50% of the pre-war population - to flee their homes.
About 85% of the dead were civilians killed by Syrian government and allied forces, the Observatory said. The Syrian army, which has been assisted by Russia since 2015, has made extensive use of air force fire.
Of the 353.935 people killed since March 15, 2011, according to the Observatory, 106.390 were civilians, including 19.811 children.
Meanwhile, Jais al-Islam, one of the main rebel groups in eastern Guta, said today it had reached an agreement with government ally Russia to remove wounded from the besieged enclave near Damascus.
The agreement was reached after communication with Russia through the United Nations, according to the organization.