Amnesty International accuses the Syrian regime

Amnesty International today accused the Syrian regime of crimes against humanity over its crackdown on civilians and called on the UN Security Council to refer the government to the International Criminal Court. Amnesty gathered evidence by phone from Syrian residents and from Syrians who fled their country, the ABC reports.

The London-based rights group urged the UN Security Council to refer Syrian forces to the International Criminal Court, and impose an arms embargo and an asset freeze on President Bashar Assad and his aides, Haaretz.com informs.

Amnesty International issued a report Tuesday detailing what it says are crimes against humanity committed by Syrian security forces during the country's violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

In a 24-page report, Amnesty International said the list of alleged crimes committed in Syria includes murder, torture and arbitrary detention.

"Amnesty International considers that the Syrian army and security forces committed crimes and other violations during the security operation in Tel Kalakh that, when taken in the context of other crimes and human rights violations elsewhere in Syria, amount to crimes against humanity," it said.