UN: Syria now in a full-scale civil war

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria is now in a full-scale civil war, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said, as the United States voiced fears the UN mission in the country may not survive once its mandate expires in July, AFP reports.

World powers are groping to find a way to end the bloodshed in Syria with the toll growing daily despite a ceasefire that should have gone into effect from April 12, and amid reports of children being used as human shields.

Asked whether he believed Syria is in a civil war, Ladsous told reporters: "Yes I think we can say that. Clearly what is happening is that the government of Syria lost some large chunks of territory, several cities to the opposition, and wants to retake control.

"I think there is a massive increase in the level of violence, so massive indeed that in a way it indicates some change of nature," Ladsous added.

The under secretary general for peacekeeping operations is the most senior UN official to indicate he believes there is a civil war. UN leader Ban Ki-moon said last week that he believed it was "imminent".

Activists say some 14,100 people have now been killed in the uprising against the Assad family, which has ruled Syria for some four decades.

In a report on June 12, the United Nations accused Syrian troops of using children as "human shields," saying children as young as nine had been victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture.