UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has termed the conflict in Syria a civil war and appealed for “further militarisation of the conflict [in Syria]” to be “avoided at all costs".

Writing to the UN Security Council, Ms Pillay said the crisis would now be called “a non-international internal armed conflict” which is the legal term for civil war which means that the Geneva Conventions on armed conflict would now apply. She claimed that “the ongoing provision of arms to the Syrian government and to its opponents feeds additional violence".

It appears that both sides of the conflict have committed war crimes, according to Ms Pillay who emphasised that the issue of Syria’s conflict should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

She also mentioned that government forces had attacked clinics, that at least one medical facility had been taken over by rebels for military purposes and that there had been reports of rebel forces using children as human shields.

Touching on the Houla massacre Ms Pillay said that evidence pointed to “the greater responsibility of the government” adding that the “bulk of the information gathered to date points to the involvement of the government-supported Shabbiha militia responsible for many of the killings, and the use of indiscriminate fire of heavy weapons by the government".

The UN is considering downscaling its monitoring mission in Syria as it is becoming impossible to operate in the violence.

Navi Pillay however urged a strengthening of the mission’s mandate “to enable it to effectively monitor and report on the human rights situation in Syria".