Syria has been accused of systematic torture, beatings and killings amounting to “crimes against humanity”.

In a detailed report by Amnesty International, residents of Tel Kalakh, near the Lebanese border, recounted how one man was shot dead by snipers and the ambulance carrying his body was also fired on.

In another incident, eight men were shot as they came out of a house to surrender.

They were taken away, still alive, and when the families came to pick up their bodies they found marks indicating sustained torture.