Researchers estimate that 83% of access to electricity has been cut and average life expectancy has dropped by 20 years in Syria over the course of the war. More than 600 physicians have been killed and half of the country’s medical facilities have been badly damaged or destroyed, according the Lancet. SOHR claims that nearly 13,000 people have been “tortured to death” in regime prisons since 2011. The US-led coalition conducted five airstrikes near Kobani in the past day. Kurdish forces called for the coalition to use airstrikes to blunt an Islamic State offensive in northeastern Syria. Syria’s information minister reportedly said the regime is ready to negotiate with the Kurds, labeling them a “major partner” against the Islamic State.
