UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous says Syria is now in a full-scale civil war. 

He was speaking to a small group of reporters, telling them the Syrian government has lost some large chunks of territory including several cities to the opposition, and wants to retake control.

The UN says it's seen signs of children being tortured, and they say they've been used as human shields.

Children of suspected rebel groups are being targeted, and the report also says the Syrian Free Army is recruiting children.

Thousands have fled to the Jordanian border.

Experienced photojournalist Robert King has taken pictures that the UN's partly based its report on, and he says he's never seen anything like the butchering going on there.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has ruled out military intervention in retaliation to the latest violence, saying the situation is reminiscent of Bosnia in the early 90s.

And US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has upped the rhetoric against Russia, which has refused to act against its ally.

The US believe Russia is supplying helicopters to the Syrian Free Army, and reports that donors from Saudi Arabia, katar and Kuwait are also arming the fighting.

UN observers in Syria are reporting a sharp increase in violence as the country descends into civil war.

- Rhema News/Newstalk ZB