Protester i Syrien

The British-based Avaaz rights group said it had collected evidence of more than 6,237 deaths of civilians and security forces, 617 of them under torture. At least 400 of the dead were children, it added.

The figures were about 1,000 higher that the latest UN estimates, which have also been climbing sharply in recent months.

"No once can now turn a blind eye to the horror show in Syria … One in every 300 Syrians has either been killed or imprisoned," said Avaaz executive director Ricken Patel.

"The world faces a choice: it stands by while brutal civil war rips through the country or it steps up the pressure to force Assad out," he added.

Security forces had detained at least 69,000 people since the uprising began in March, Avaaz said, around 32,000 of whom had since been released.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/6200-killed-in-syrian-crackdown

CNN) -- More than 5,800 people, including 395 children, died in 2011 during the crackdown on protests in Syria, according to an opposition activist group.

The grim tally of "martyrs" from the Local Coordination Committees of Syria totaled 5,862, including 287 prisoners it said were tortured to death. The LCC said 19 doctors and 146 women were among those killed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/31/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburn er&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_ topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29