August deadliest month in Syria; 5,000 killed

Damascus: Around 5,000 people died in Syria`s civil war in August, making it the deadliest month since violence started 18 months ago, according to opposition activist groups.

The groups said more than 26,000 people have died during the conflict. The Unicef put the toll for last week alone at 1,600. Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 5,440 people, including 4,114 civilians, were killed in August. Local Coordination Committees put the number of dead at 4,933 civilians. Anti-government groups accuse President Bashar al-Assad`s security forces of carrying out indiscriminate killing in civilian areas, most recently in Aleppo, the country`s largest city. Assad blames the violence on "terrorists" supported by foreign governments. IANS