BEIRUT: More than 29,000 people have been killed in violence in Syria since an anti-government uprising broke out in March last year meeting with a bloody crackdown, a human rights group said Thursday.

"As of Wednesday (September 19), at least 20,755 civilians, 1,148 defectors and 7,095 soldiers had been killed across Syria since the outbreak of the revolt," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

According to preliminary reports, at least 41 people were killed Thursday, Abdel Rahman added, taking the total death toll to more than 29,000.

"Included in the civilian death toll are civilians who have taken up arms to join the insurgency against the regime," said Abdel Rahman.

Not included are thousands of people detained without charge in Syria's prisons, many of whom are feared dead, he added.

"We also have reports of hundreds of unidentified bodies found across the country," said Abdel Rahman. "In addition, we believe that the death toll among regime forces is much higher, but that most soldiers' deaths are unannounced."

The Britain-based watchdog bases its reports on accounts by doctors, journalists and activists on the ground.

The United Nations says the death toll stands at more than 20,000.