U.N. panel on Syrian abuses strengthened

GENEVA, Switzerland, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Friday to strengthen the commission gathering evidence on human rights abuses in Syria.

The resolution to continue the work of the Commission of Inquiry for another six months and increase its staff and resources, was approved by 41 of the council's 47 members meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

It was opposed by China, Cuba and Russia, with three countries abstaining, The New York Times reported.

The commission told the council earlier this month it had collected "a formidable and extraordinary body of evidence" of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by Syrian government forces, and on a lesser scale, by Syrian rebels.