United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous says Syria has become mired in a full-scale civil war.

Ladsous told reporters Tuesday at UN headquarters that the Syrian conflict has escalated into a civil war amid growing violence.

He explained that the government of Syria has lost some large chunks of territory in several cities to the opposition and it wants to retake control of those areas.

This is the first time a senior U.N. official has declared Syria's conflict is a civil war.