More than 100,000 killed in Syria uprising: NGO

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the country's uprising in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said in a new toll today.

The Observatory said the toll now stands at 100,191 people, with at least 36,661 civilians killed, including more than 3,000 women and more than 5,000 children under the age of 16.

The group, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers on the ground throughout Syria, said 18,072 rebel fighters had been killed.

On the regime side, the group reported the deaths of at least 25,407 army soldiers, 17,311 pro-regime militia and 169 members of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian army.

The group counted another 2,571 unidentified people killed in the fighting throughout the war-torn country up until June 24.

The figures are a testament to the levels of violence wracking the country, which has been ravaged by a civil war that began with peaceful demonstrations calling for regime change.

The Syrian government responded with force to the demonstrations, starting a bloody spiral into violence that has left no part of the country untouched and raised concerns about regional destabilisation.