GENEVA — At least 2,600 have died during the six months of unrest that has swept Syria, the top United Nations' human rights official said Monday.
"According to reliable sources on the ground, the number of those killed since the onset of the unrest in mid-March 2011 in that country has now reached at least 2,600," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
Pillay said in a speech at the UN Human Rights Council that her office continues to be denied access to Syria by the government of President Bashar Assad.
The global body is expected to take up the issue of Syria again during its three-week meeting in Geneva that began Monday. Last month the council held an emergency meeting on Syria at which it voted overwhelmingly to demand that Syria end its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters.
Pillay told reporters after her speech that she was shocked by the continued suppression of dissent in the Middle East nation.
"The situation in Syria is still dire and I really regret that the Syrian government has not let in my assessment team," she said.
"My last figures were 2,000 killed and now I am shocked to learned that the figure is closer to 2,600," Pillay added. "From the time that the Human Rights Council passed its resolution and the Security Council has addressed the matter, the situation in Syria has worsened and peaceful protesters have been killed."
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