Nearly 3,000 Syrians Killed In June

Violence in Syria claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people in June, making it the bloodiest month since rebels began their challenge to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s rule more than a year ago. The London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights said that 2,336 rebels and civilians and 649 soldiers and security personnel were killed in June. The statistics also show that the violence is spreading closer to the Syrian capital of Damascus. On Thursday, Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the leader of the U.N. monitoring mission in Syria, announced that the mission was on hold because of increased violence. “The escalation of violence, allow me to say, to an unprecedented level, obstructed our ability to observe, verify, report as well as assist in local dialogue,” said Mood.