The relentless violence in Syria: By the numbers

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted on Monday that it is responding to its people's demands for reforms, touting the overwhelming approval of a referendum ushering in a new constitution and multi-party democracy. But to many observers on the outside and activists on the inside, the referendum was a "farce," and Assad continues to mercilessly kill anyone demanding change, especially in the restive city of Homs. Mother Jones reported Monday it had obtained a leaked government "hit list" with details on where to find thousands of government opponents, presumably to capture or kill them. Here, a by-the-numbers look at one of the longest, bloodiest offshoots of the Arab Spring:

11

Length of Syrian uprising, in months

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

9,000

Citizens killed by Assad's forces over the past year, according to opposition groups

2,000

Security force members killed by "terrorists," according to Syria's government

57.4

Percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in Sunday's referendum, per government figures

735,000

Voters who opposed the new constitution in Sunday's vote (9 percent of voters)

7.5 million

Voters who approved the new constitution, according to government tallies (89.4 percent of voters)

2028

Year Assad would be term-limited out of power under the new constitution approved Sunday

1970

Year Assad's father seized power in a coup. The family has ruled Syria ever since.

144

People killed by government forces on Sunday and Monday, according to opposition groups

64

People reportedly stopped at a checkpoint and killed by government forces in single "horrifying massacre" when trying to flee shelling in Homs on Sunday evening

718

Pages of names on an apparent government "hit list" detailing the whereabouts, activities, and personal details of thousands of targeted dissidents, according to Mother Jones

186,000

Average tweets per hour about Egypt's uprising in January 2011, according to Slate

25,000 to 50,000

Average tweets per hour about the Iranian uprising in June 2009

3,000 to 6,000

Average tweets per hour about the Syrian uprising in February 2012

90,000

Tweets every 10 minutes about the British singer Adele on Feb. 13, the day after she won six Grammys

70

Countries that attended a "Friends of Syria" meeting in Tunisia last weekend to seek an end to the violence

2

Countries — China and Russia — blocking any meaningful action at the U.N. Security Council

Sources: AP, Bloomberg, CNN, Mother Jones, New York Times, Slate