UN blames Syrian government, rebels for 'unspeakable suffering' endured by Syrian children

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, residents of the besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp wait to leave the camp, on the southern edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Over the past six days the U.N. continued to distribute food parcels in the Palestinian camp where activists say at least 85 people have died as a result of lack of food and medicine since mid-2013. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, residents of the besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp carry their belongings as they flee the camp, on the southern edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. Over the past six days the U.N. continued to distribute food parcels in the Palestinian camp where activists say at least 85 people have died as a result of lack of food and medicine since mid-2013. (AP Photo/SANA) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – The United Nations says the Syrian government is responsible for "countless killings, maiming and torture" of children during the country's nearly 3-year-old conflict.

In a report detailing the impact of Syria's civil war on children, the world body also accuses the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad of "recruiting youngsters for combat."

The report, released to the Security Council, was posted on the U.N.'s official website Tuesday.

It highlights the treatment of children in the conflict from March 1, 2011 to Nov. 15, 2013. The report says Syrian children have been subjected to "unspeakable suffering" during that time.

Syria's uprising against Assad's rule began with largely peaceful protests in 2011 but evolved in time into a bloody civil war that has killed more than 130,000 people, according to activists.