Monitor - 60,000 have died in Syrian government jails during war

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Russia's RIA new agency, in Damascus, Syria in this handout file picture provided by SANA on March 30, 2016. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters/Files

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A monitoring group has said that at least 60,000 people have died in Syrian government jails during the five-year conflict.

Syrian government officials could not be reached for comment on the report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which cited sources in the security apparatus for the toll. The government has rejected similar reports in the past.