Red Cross: Syria Now a Civil War

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it now considers the conflict in Syria a civil war, meaning international humanitarian law applies throughout the country. The Geneva-based group's assessment is an important reference that helps parties in a conflict determine how much and what type of force they can or cannot use. The move comes as Syria denied it had used heavy weapons on civilians in a reported massacre Thursday in Tremseh.

ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said today that the humanitarian law now applies wherever hostilities are taking place in Syria, where fighting has spread beyond the hotspots of Idlib, Homs, and Hama. International humanitarian law grants parties to a conflict the right to use appropriate force to achieve their aims, but attacks on civilians and abuse or killing of detainees can constitute war crimes. (More Syria stories.)