Nearly 150 civilians killed in Syria in March: Watchdog

By Adham Kako

ANKARA (AA) - A total of 145 civilians were killed in attacks in Syria last month, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said Wednesday.

The group said 5 children and 3 women were among the victims that included 36 who were killed by regime forces and allied militias, 14 tortured to death in regime prisons, 12 in areas occupied by the YPG/PKK terrorist group, 19 in Russian airstrikes and two by Syrian opposition forces.

The SNHR said 76 were killed without identifying those responsible.
The watchdog estimates 707 civilians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the year.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity, which later developed into bloody clashes and interventions from external forces, including the Lebanese Hezbollah group, Iranian militia and others.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN figures.

*Writing by Burak Dag in Ankara