UN: Syrian civil war increasingly sectarian

BRUSSELS (AP) — Syria’s civil war is increasingly turning into a sectarian conflict pitting majority Sunni rebels against government forces supported by the country’s religious and ethnic minorities, a new U.N. human rights report said Thursday.

Sergio Pinheiro, who heads an independent commission investigating abuses, said the bulk of the victims of the nearly two-year war were civilians, and blamed both sides for abuses including torture and illegal executions.