Over 42,000 dead in Syria conflict: Watchdog

Johannesburg, Dec 7 (ANI): At least 42 000 people have been killed in an uprising in Syria that broke out last year in a bid to oust President Bashar al-Assad, a monitoring group has said. "At least 29 455 civilians have been killed, as have 1 426 troops who defected to the opposition and 10 551 soldiers," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said. "An additional 652 people whose identity we have been unable to identify have been killed in the conflict," Rahman said. According to News24, Rahman said that 'a total of 42 084 people have died in the past 21 months.' The conflict started as a peaceful protest movement, but escalated into an armed rebellion when the authorities used deadly force against demonstrators, the report said. (ANI)