UN rights chief slams `rampant` torture in Syria

Geneva: The UN`s top human rights official has condemned the "rampant use of torture" in detention facilities in Syria.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says her office has documented a "broad pattern of torture and ill-treatment" in government facilities and some run by rebel groups. Pillay said in a statement today that the report draws on detailed testimony from victims and witnesses. The abuses include rape, beatings and burnings, sometimes leading to death. Pillay`s office has documented widespread abuses by the government and rebel groups in Syria`s three-year civil war, prompting calls for war crimes inquiries.