Pillay's tale of Syria disturbs U.S.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Statements that Syria is headed for civil war and the regime is torturing opponents at state detention facilities are deeply troubling, a U.S. envoy said.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the U.N. General Assembly there were credible signs the Syrian government was torturing prisoners at state detention facilities.

Rosemary DiCarlo, U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said there was credible information that at least 6,000 people have been killed by Syrian forces since an uprising against President Bashar Assad began last March.

"The Assad regime has chosen to keep observers away, whether they are from the Arab League, international human rights monitors or the international press," she said in a statement. "But in broad strokes the reality is completely clear and it is appalling."

Syria maintains it is dealing with an armed insurgency supported by foreign interventionists.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said alongside U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that a so-called Friends of Syria meeting in Tunisia would send a "strong and clear message" to Damascus that the international community has run out of patience.

Pillay added that she was "distressed" that emerging sectarian tensions "might soon plunge Syria into civil war."