Abuses by Syrian rebels reported

BEIRUT -- Syrian rebels routinely kill captured soldiers and suspected regime informers, human rights monitors said Thursday, warning of mounting war crimes committed by those trying to topple President Bashar Assad.

Reports of rebel abuses come as the Syrian opposition appears to be gaining momentum in a 2-year-old conflict that, according to the UN, has killed more than 70,000 people.

Abuses by the Assad regime remain far more deadly, systematic and widespread, particularly attacks on civilians with imprecise battlefield weapons, including widely banned cluster bombs, the London-based group Amnesty International said.

France, meanwhile, pushed for quickly lifting a European Union ban on arming Syrian rebels. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country is ready to supply weapons even if other EU countries disagree. The United States and other countries have been reluctant to send weapons partly because of fears they may fall into the hands of extremists.

Fighting in Syria has intensified, prompting growing numbers of Syrians to flee their country.The UN said yesterday that the number of registered Syrian refugees jumped 10 percent in the past week alone, part of what Reem Alsalem, the UN commissioner for refugees called a "staggering escalation." -- AP