Syrian death toll tops 350,000 but Putin’s bombers continue to rain death from the skies

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK conflict monitor which tracks death tolls using a network of contacts inside the war-ravaged country, added that the unofficial death toll could be as high as 500,000, but that only 350,000 bodies had been formally identified.

The remainder 150,000 were cases where the Observatory knew deaths had occurred but did not know the victims’ names.

Around 85 per cent of the dead were killed by the forces of the Syrian government and its allies – chiefly Russia – the Observatory said.

A statement read: “Some 353,935 people have been killed since March 15, 2011, including 106,390 civilians and 19,811 children.”

But as the civil war enters its eighth year, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin appear unwilling to stop the fresh wave of clashes triggered by Russian-backed government forces bent on driving out Islamist factions from the rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta.

Vladimir Putin has deployed fearsome array of strike aircraft, attack helicopters and bombers to Syria.

They have included:

The nuclear capable Tu-160 – a supersonic heavy strategic bomber which is the largest combat aircraft in the world.

It carries nuclear-tipped or cruise missiles to devastating efffect.

The ‘Russian Black Hawk’ Mi-28 two-seat anti-tank attack helicopter, capable of operating in all weather conditions, day or night.

The 1500-mph Su-30 multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.

The formidable SU-35 fighter jet which can achieve almost three times the speed of sound.

The Tu-22M 1,400 mph supersonic, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber

Calls from world leaders including Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron for an end to the violence have been widely ignored, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire “without delay”.

The re-ignition of violence in Syria has shone a harsh spotlight on the West’s powerlessness and shrinking role in Syria, while highlighting Russia’s growing influence in the region.

In France Mr Macron came under fire from his predecessor François Hollande last night for failing to act definitively against the Russian president.

Speaking to the French daily Le Monde, the former socialist president accused Mr Macron of not exerting enough pressure on his so-called ally, saying that if France was in a position to boast about its historic ties with Russia, then it should be able to convince Mr Putin to force the Syrian government to respect the ceasefire deal.

The young centrist, for his part, denied being passive in the face of escalating Russian-backed violence in Syria, saying later on Monday that he had established a “constant and demanding dialogue” with Mr Putin and even managed to “convince” him not to use his veto power and back the ceasefire resolution.

France’s envoy to the UN François Delattre on Monday also urged Moscow to put pressure on the Syrian regime to stop the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in eastern Ghouta, saying: “Russia can stop the bloodbath”.