U.N. report slams both sides

Syrian Zakia Abdullah sits on the rubble of her house in the Tariq al-Bab district of Aleppo, Syria, on February 23, 2013.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urges patience: "We want to stop the killing"Rebels say they are shocked the U.N. would accuse them of atrocitiesBoth government and rebel forces are accused of recruiting boysU.N. panelist: No diplomatic end to war means "devastating" implications for the region and world

(CNN) -- The Syrian war has never been a simple fight between good rebels and evil government forces, and the United Nations has said so several times in the past.

But this week, U.N. investigators released a particularly detailed and horrific report that slams both sides, accusing rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad of murder, rape, torture and forced disappearances.

Government forces and the rebels have violated international humanitarian law in the two-year war, said Paulo Pinheiro, chairman of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

"The war displays all the signs of a destructive stalemate," he told the U.N. Security Council this week.

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