January 31, 2014 - 17:29 AMT
Activists say 1,900 killed in Syria during peace talks

Activists said Friday, Jan 31, that fighting on the ground in Syria has killed nearly 1,900 people, including at least 430 civilians, during the week of UN-hosted peace talks in Switzerland, the Associated Press reports.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday it has counted 1,870 dead from the day the talks started on Jan 22 until Thursday evening.

The Observatory says those killed include at least 430 civilians who died from bombs, snipers and missiles. The rest were rebels, al Qaeda militants and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The conference in Geneva didn't produce any tangible results but is expected to kick off prolonged negotiations to try to resolve the conflict.

The Observatory bases its information from activists on the ground. Syria's civil war has so far killed over 130,000 people.