A report by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research said that as many as 4,70,000 people have died and 1.9 million have been wounded in the war that started in the country in March 2011. At least 70,000 people have died because of inadequate health services and lack of food, clean water, sanitation and proper housing. The report added that 11.5% of the worn-torn country's population has been killed or injured in the past five years.

The research centre said the life expectancy in Syria has dropped from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in 2015. The war has displaced more than 63 lakh people internally and 40 lakh abroad. Consumer prices have gone up by 53%, while poverty has increased by 85% in 2015 alone, reported The Guardian. The numbers stated in the report are much higher than the United Nations' estimates, before it stopped counting in 2014 due to lack of access and diminishing confidence in data sources.

The report was published even as the United States pressed Russia to stop bombing around Syria's largest city, Aleppo, in support of a Syrian government offensive to recapture it from rebels. Russia has in turn proposed a ceasefire by March 1, but the US feels that Moscow is just buying time to crush moderate rebel groups in the region, reported Reuters. The United Nations has warned that a new humanitarian disaster could be on the way, as aid workers said the water supply to Aleppo, home to 20 lakh people, was no longer functioning.