The Syrian Civil War is a cesspool of war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to UN investigators.  Both the Syrian government and Sunni militants with the terrorist group Islamic State are guilty, apparently locked in a contest of which can be worse.

“Violence has bled over the borders of the Syrian Arab republic, with extremism fuelling the conflict’s heightened brutality,” investigators said in the 45-page report released in Geneva.  But the places under Islamic State control seem to be faring the worst.  Women have absolutely no rights, and those of minority sects are sold and traded amongst the jihadis. 

“Fridays are regularly marked by executions, amputations, and lashings in public squares,” the independent commission of inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria said.  “Bodies of those killed are placed on display for several days, terrorizing the local population."

The Syrian government is offering to help western powers fight Islamic State, but it’s unlikely anyone wants Bashar al-Assad as a partner.  Assads forces have killed 11,000 people in jails during the civil war.  The government is accused of disappearances, torture, and using banned chemical agents including Chlorine Gas in “barrel bombs” – crude-yet-effective weapons made of explosives and other agents crammed into oil barrels and dropped on targets from helicopters.

One of the report’s authors is former war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who called on world powers to launch cases at the international criminal court.