Syria Records One Of Its Deadliest Weeks Ever

Syria Records One Of Its Deadliest Weeks Ever
A rebel fighter stands on a street covered with dust following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the old city of Aleppo on July 21, 2014. Aleppo was Syria's most populous city before the conflict, but it is now a major battle zone split into areas controlled by the rebels concentrated in the east and those held by the government mainly in the west. AFP PHOTO / AHMED DEEB (Photo credit should read AHMED DEEB/AFP/Getty Images)
A rebel fighter stands on a street covered with dust following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the old city of Aleppo on July 21, 2014. Aleppo was Syria's most populous city before the conflict, but it is now a major battle zone split into areas controlled by the rebels concentrated in the east and those held by the government mainly in the west. AFP PHOTO / AHMED DEEB (Photo credit should read AHMED DEEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Last week, 700 people died in two days in Syria, in what has been described as the deadliest 48-hour period in the country since its conflict began more than four years ago. And 1,700 are reported to have died in the last seven days, in one of the worst weeks on record.

As the global spotlight shifted to Gaza, the past month has been particularly brutal in Syria. Why? Experts cite a bloody fight between Assad forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for control of the large Shaar gas field, east of Homs; an increased regime offensive in Aleppo; and clashes between ISIS, which is rapidly consolidating its territory in the east, and rebel factions like Jabhat al-Nusra.

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