Syrian Death Toll Hits 82,000

Free Syrian Army fighters fire a rocket in clashes with government forces. (Reuters: Mohamed Kaddoor )

Syrian Death Toll Hits 82,000: Opposition Group -- ABC News (Australia)

At least 82,000 people have been killed and 12,500 are missing after two years of civil war in Syria, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

Most of the dead were killed by troops and militia loyal to president Bashar al-Assad, and most of the missing are believed to have been detained by the government's secret police and other loyalists, the monitoring group said.

It said 35,000 civilians, including almost 5,000 children, were among the dead.

"Most of the dead were killed by troops and militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad," the group's president Rami Abdulrahman said.

"Killings in unofficial jails are commonplace, and the conditions under which prisoners are held are horrific."

The group said almost 13,000 anti-Assad fighters had been killed, along with almost 2,000 army deserters.

On the loyalist side, it believes 16,700 troops and 12,000 militiamen and informers have been killed.

The report said the fate of around 2,500 loyalist troops believed to be held by rebels was unknown.

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