PTI: August was the worst month for casualties so far in Syria's 18-month conflict, the United Nations has said, warning that the worsening "grim spiral of violence" could have dangerous implications for the country's neighbours.         

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told the UN Security Council yesterday that the conflict in the President Bashar al-Assad led regime is becoming increasingly militarised, with the government's indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas and intensified operations from the armed opposition.         

"The month of August registered the highest number of casualties thus far, and this toll is growing," Serry told the council during a briefing on the situation in the Middle East.         

As conditions deteriorate in the troubled nation, "we see dangerous implications for Syria's neighbours," he said. "As we are facing a grim spiral of violence, our objectives remain the same:  to stop the bloodshed and human rights violations, to alleviate human suffering and to seek a political solution through a Syrian-led process of transition and dialogue," he said.         

While Serry did not give details of the number of those killed in the Syrian conflict last month, the UN estimates that 19,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Assad began some 18 months ago.