Around 7,000 civilians, including 1,361 women and 1,436 children, were killed in Syria last year, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said yesterday.

The nongovernmental organization (NGO) said that forces loyal to the Bashar Assad regime were responsible for the killing of 4,162 civilians, including 713 children and 799 women. Russian forces, which provide air support to the regime, were blamed for the death of 467 civilians, including 169 children and 118 women, it added. Meanwhile, a total of 417 civilians were killed in U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, including 175 children and 118 women, the NGO said.

According to an SNHR statement, 446 civilians were killed by Daesh, and 285 others died at the hands of the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG). The NGO said armed opposition groups were responsible for the death of at least 80 civilians, while 1,107 people were killed in attacks by unidentified parties. The SNHR said that 976 people were tortured to death in Syria last year. The Bashar Assad regime was responsible for at least 951 of these deaths. Ten people were also tortured to death by the YPG, the NGO said. Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.