United Nations war crimes investigators said on Thursday, Oct 25, they would seek a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters.

The team, led by Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro, has been gathering evidence and testimony for the past year on atrocities committed by Syrian government forces and armed rebels in the 19-month-old conflict.

"We decided to send a letter to President al-Assad calling for a meeting ... it would be very important that he could receive us," Pinheiro told reporters.