The United Nations says at least 2,600 people have been killed in Syria during the anti-government uprising that has swept the country since mid-March.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay provided the figures during an address to the Human Rights Council on Monday. The figure represents a significant increase since August, when the U.N. estimated that 2,200 had died since the government began violently cracking down on dissent.
An aide to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quick to counter the U.N. figures Monday, saying that only 1,400 have died. Syrian government spokesman Bouthaina Shaaban says the casualties have been evenly split, with 700 government forces and 700 opposition activists having been killed. more