UN: Death Toll Tops 2,900 In Syria's Crackdown Against Protests

A video still shows Syrian antigovernment demonstrators during a protest in Idlib last week.

The United Nations human rights office says that the death toll from a violent crackdown by authorities in Syria has risen to more than 2,900 since protests began in March against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, said the figure was based a "detailed list" of individual names that the UN has been keeping."

Colville said the toll did not include those who have disappeared or remain unaccounted for.

The UN's previous death toll was 2,700.

The latest figures come a day before the UN Human Rights Council reviews Syria's record, part of the Geneva-based organization's regular examination of all UN member states.

compiled from agency reports