UN chief condemns 'routine' torture in Syria detention facilities

The United Nation's human rights chief has condemned the 'routine' use of torture in detention facilities in Syria.

The comments from Navi Pillay came as a new report said victims were raped, beaten and had their teeth and toenails pulled out.

Pillay added that the report, based on accounts by 38 survivors, confirm that torture is being routinely used in government detention facilities in Syria.

He added that torture was also used by some armed groups, news24 reports.

According to the report, the UN report details the systematic torture of men, women and children in the war-ravaged country.

A 30-year-old university student described how he was beaten, had his beard pulled out and his feet burned at an Air Force Intelligence facility where he was interrogated in 2012, the report said.

Investigators also found that several armed groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front, had used torture against men, women and children.

Human rights activists and medical workers seen to be affiliated with other armed groups were particularly vulnerable, the report added.