UN body probes Syria crackdown

GENEVA - The UN Human Rights Council launched an international commission of inquiry on Tuesday into Syria's crackdown on anti-government protesters, including possible crimes against humanity.

By 33 votes to four, with nine abstentions, the council passed a resolution to "urgently dispatch an independent international commission of inquiry ... to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law ... in the Syrian Arab Republic".

The decision came one day after thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets across Syria, shouting for President Bashar Assad to step down and chanting "Gadhafi is gone, now it's your turn Bashar!"