Almost half of those killed in Syria since the outbreak of the anti-regime revolt in March 2011 have died since a failed UN-Arab League truce was due to come into force, a monitoring group said on Sunday.

Abdel Rahman said 9,098 people have been killed since the ceasefire brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan was supposed to begin.

More than 20,000 people have been killed since the uprising broke out in mid-March last year, according to the watchdog’s figures.

It is not possible to check casualty tolls independently in Syria. The United Nations has a troubled military observer mission in the country but has stopped giving figures for the overall estimated death toll.