Pillay: Syrian conflict taking grave turn

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GENEVA, Switzerland, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The situation in Syria is spiraling out of control as impotence at the international level continues, the U.N. human rights chief told the Human Rights Council.

Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on member states to provide "strong and united support" for Lakhdar Brahimi, the newly appointed special representative for the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis.

Last week, Ban told the U.N. General Assembly that "paralysis" among members of the international community was doing harm to the Syrian people and damaging the credibility of the Security Council.

Veto-wielding member states China and Russia have objected to draft resolutions on Syria presented to the Security Council. They said measures lack balance.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that government forces in Syria were likely committed war crimes against the Syrian people. Opposition forces are suspected of increasing their level of brutality as the conflict escalates.

This, she said, "is part of the rapid downward spiral that is gripping Syria and, on the international level, increasing the sense of deep foreboding, frustration and impotence about where this conflict is heading."

The Syrian government says it's tackling a domestic insurgency backed by foreign elements. Pillay said that, despite the claims, the level of suffering grows worse by the day.

"As we speak, civilians, including children, are continuing to be injured and killed in Syria virtually every hour of every day," she said in her address.