UNICEF: 1,600 Killed in Syria's Civil War Last Week

The U.N. children’s fund UNICEF says Syria’s civil war killed 1,600 people last week, making it the deadliest seven-day period of the 18-month conflict.

The U.N. children’s fund UNICEF says Syria’s civil war killed 1,600 people last week, making it the deadliest seven-day period of the 18-month conflict.

UNICEF spokesman Patrick McCormick said Sunday the death toll included some children, but he did not elaborate. Syrian opposition activists have been reporting daily death tolls of 100 to 200 people in the past week as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces intensified the use of air power to crush the uprising against his autocratic rule. Daily casualty reports from rebel and government sources are difficult to verify because the fighting and government censorship have kept many foreign journalists away.

Several Syrian rights groups said the conflict’s death toll for August was nearly 5,000. It was the deadliest month since the uprising began in March of last year.

In the latest unrest on Sunday, Syrian state media said two bombs exploded near a security compound in Damascus, wounding four people in an attack claimed by Free Syrian Army rebels.