European and Arab diplomats said the top UN human rights forum would announce on November 30 with a special session on December 2 that was expected to condemn Syria for crimes against humanity.

The move is partly designed to put pressure on China and Russia to take a stronger stand against Assad's government.

The 47-member UN Human Rights Council's third session on Syria in eight months is being convened days after a UN commission of inquiry said Syrian government forces had committed murder, torture and rape in their crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The United Nations report on December 28 accused Syria of crimes against humanity in the 8-month-old repression of a revolt in which the UN says at least 3,500 have been killed.

Syria's northern neighbor Turkey said on December 29 it feared there could be an exodus of Syrians if the violence got worse, and that borderstates might have to create a buffer zone. Russia in contrast warned major powers against interference.

France has raised the idea of a secured humanitarian corridor, a step which would appear to imply some use of armed forces for security and logistics, if camps were set up on Syria's border to accommodate masses of refugees.