BEIRUT: At least 3,825 people have died in Syria’s war in 2022, the lowest yearly toll since the start of the conflict more than a decade ago, a war monitor said Saturday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had last year put the death toll at 3,746 throughout 2021, before revising it up to 3,882.
After years of deadly battle and bombardments following the brutal suppression of 2011 anti-government protests, the conflict has largely abated in the last three years.
Sporadic fighting at times breaks out and jihadist attacks continue, mainly in the east of the country.
Among those killed in 2022 were 1,627 civilians, including 321 children, according to the figures from the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria.
Of the civilians killed, 209 people — about half of them children — were killed by mines or other explosive devices.
In addition, 627 government security force personnel were killed along with 217 other fighters loyal to the regime of Bashar Assad, the Observatory said.
Some 387 members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and their allies were also among the dead, as well as more than 500 jihadists.
The director of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said a large number of the deaths occurred due to security chaos, dozens of strikes launched by Israel, and attacks by the Daesh group in the Syrian desert.
The war has killed nearly half a million people since it broke out over a decade ago, displacing almost half of Syria’s pre-war population.
Assad has retaken most of the territory initially lost to rebel groups, though the SDF — which the regime maintains a degree of cooperation with — continues to control areas in the north and northeast.
Turkiye, a key player in the war, has repeatedly threatened to launch a ground offensive against the Syrian Kurds in recent months, having already pursued three such offensives previously.
In addition, about half of the northwestern province of Idlib and areas bordering the neighboring provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia are dominated by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other rebel factions.
Syria records lowest annual death toll since war began: monitor
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Syria records lowest annual death toll since war began: monitor
- The conflict has largely abated in the last three years
- Among those killed in 2022 were 1,627 civilians, including 321 children
More than 80 countries condemn new Israeli rules in West Bank, invoke the ‘New York Declaration’
- Surrounded by nations’ representatives, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour reads statement at UN HQ denouncing the measures as ‘contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law’
- Critics say the steps — including expansion of Israeli settlements, legalization of outposts, direct land purchases by settlers, removal of oversight — amount to de facto annexation
NEW YORK CITY: More than 80 countries and several international organizations on Tuesday condemned what they described as unilateral decisions and measures taken by Israeli authorities with the aim of expanding their “unlawful” presence in the occupied West Bank.
Surrounded by more than 80 representatives of the nations and groups, Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, read a joint statement in which they said: “Such decisions are contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.”
Israel this month approved significant new measures that tighten its control of the occupied West Bank, focusing in particular on accelerating the process of registering land in a part of the territory known as Area C as “state property.”
The new steps, which critics say amount to de facto annexation, include the legalization of outposts, expansion of Israeli settlements, authorization for direct land purchases by settlers, and the removal of oversight on such transactions.
In their statement, the countries and organizations stressed their “strong opposition to any form of annexation.”
They continued: “We reiterate our rejection of all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
“Such measures violate international law, undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region, run counter to the comprehensive plan, and jeopardize the prospect of reaching a peace agreement ending the conflict.”
They reaffirmed their determination “to take concrete measures in accordance with international law, and in line with the relevant UN resolutions and the July 19 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, to help realize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and to counter the illegal settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and policies and threats of forcible displacement.”
This stance is reflected, they said, in the 2025 New York Declaration, a UN-endorsed initiative proposed, following a conference in July 2025, by France and Saudi Arabia with the aim of reviving efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“We reiterate that a just and lasting peace on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, and the Arab Peace Initiative, ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and implementing the two-state solution — where two democratic states, an independent and sovereign Palestine and Israel, live side by side in peace and security within their secure and recognized borders on the basis of the 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem — remains the only path to ensure security and stability in the region,” they added.
