Syria unrest has killed 60,000, says UN

More than 60,000 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March 2011, the UN has said. A study commissioned by UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay collated data from seven different sources, and concluded that there had been 59,648 deaths until November 2012. Ms Pillay said the figure would now have risen above 60,000 and described the bloodshed as "truly shocking". Syrian opposition groups had previously estimated 45,000 people killed. The study was released hours after a petrol station near Damascus was hit by a missile from a government warplane. The attack apparently sparked a huge explosion in which up to 70 people died, according to activists, in one of the deadliest incidents of the uprising.