UN estimates Syria death toll more than 60,000

[davidn3600]

Source: AP and Yahoo

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations estimated Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria's 21-month-old uprising against authoritarian rule, a toll one-third higher than what anti-regime activists had counted. The U.N. human rights chief called the toll "truly shocking."

Opposition activist groups had been estimating the death toll at more than 45,000 and this was the first time that the U.N. estimate was higher.

"Given there has been no letup in the conflict since the end of November, we can assume that more than 60,000 people have been killed by the beginning of 2013," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement. "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking," she added.

"The failure of the international community, in particular the Security Council, to take concrete actions to stop the blood-letting, shames us all," Pillay said. "Collectively, we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/un-estimates-syria-death-toll-more-60-000-160140654.html

[leftynyc]

1. "Truly shocking"

That's the best the UN can do? Utterly fucking useless.

[Posteritatis]

3. You do know how the UN operates, right?

That's a rhetorical question, because your response implies you don't.

[leftynyc]

4. I know exactly what they do

And how they pick and choose what and which country to be "outraged" and "truly shocked" at. Are you saying they can't get the security council to do anything? Is that how little YOU understand?

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. The UN is trying to negotiate a settlement. What would you do?

After Libya, Russia and China veto any further Western interventions. That leaves either a negotiated settlement or a war of extermination.