The Death Toll of the 'Arab Spring' Revolutions

The United Nations reported this week that Syria's government, run by Bashar al Assad, is responsible for killing more than 3,500 people since protests erupted in the country early this year. The report serves as a reminder that roughly nine months after leaders fell in Tunisia and Egypt, and weeks after Col. Muammar Qadhafi's death in Libya, people in other nations in the region are still waiting for their so-called spring to arrive.

[See a slideshow of death tolls as a result of this year's uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.]

Human rights groups have been keeping track of reported deaths around the region since the start of popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. However, due to the chaotic nature of each nation's conflict, many of the death tolls are rough estimates at best. New governments in Egypt and Libya, for example, have also suggested estimates of their own, but those also, have not been fully confirmed.

U.S. News has compiled some general estimates based on reports from the countries themselves, the United Nations and other human rights groups, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, on how many people have suffered violent deaths, either in battle—as was the case for rebel forces in Libya—or at the hand of their own government.

Click here to view a slideshow of the death tolls in various "Arab Spring" nations.

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