Syria: Assad responsible for war crimes says UN inquiry

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has for the first time directly implicated President Bashar al-Assad in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

She said investigations by her commission of inquiry over the past 18 months had uncovered evidence suggesting that responsibility lay at the highest levels of government, including the head of state.

She said human rights violations had been committed by all sides, but on a much greater scale by the government side.