France: We must arm Syrian rebels now - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

By Holly Yan and Saad Abedine

With the carnage in Syria mounting out of control, there's only one thing left to do, France says: Lift a European Union embargo and start arming rebels.

"We must convince our partners, particularly in Europe, that we have no other choice but lift the arms embargo in favor of the (opposition) Syrian Coalition," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius wrote in an op-ed for the French newspaper Liberation.

"We must go ahead and allow the Syrian people to defend themselves against this bloodthirsty regime. It's our responsibility to help the Syrian National Coalition, its leaders and the (rebel) Free Syrian Army by all the possible means.

"If not," Fabius warned, "the slaughter will continue, and there will not be any other possible outcome but to strengthen the most extreme groups and the collapse of Syria with devastating consequences for the country itself and the region."

The UK also hints of change

France isn't alone.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has hinted that he wants to arm Syrian rebels demanding President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

This week, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK could make its own foreign policy on supplying rebels.

"We might have to do things in our own way," he told lawmakers Tuesday.

But Cameron stressed that the UK has not yet decided to circumvent the EU's arms embargo.

"I hope that we do not have to break from a collaborative approach across the European Union," he said.

However, "if we thought it was the right thing to do, we would do it."

In February, the European Union renewed its arms embargo on Syria for three months -- but amended it to allow greater nonlethal support and technical assistance to help protect civilians.

The latest embargo is set to expire in May. Member countries could renew it, add amendments or veto it.

Report finds abuses by both sides

Syrian government forces continue to bomb civilians indiscriminately, while rebels increasingly resort to kidnapping and summary executions, Amnesty International said in a report.

"While the vast majority of war crimes and other gross violations continue to be committed by government forces, our research also points to an escalation in abuses by armed opposition groups," said Ann Harrison, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program.

The human rights organization found that in addition to bombings, government forces continue to torture and kill detainees.

One researcher for the group found nine cluster bombs -- an internationally banned weapon -- in a housing estate, the report states. The unexploded bomblets are a danger to residents, especially children who might pick them up, Amnesty says.

"The Amnesty report confirms what the (opposition) has been reporting for the past two years: the Assad regime targets civilians, especially children," said Rafif Jouejati, a spokesman for the opposition Local Coordination Committees in Syria, or LCC.

However, the report also accused the opposition of hostage taking, torture and the executions of soldiers and others it has captured.

Jouejati admits there have been abuses, but said no one can suggest "by any stretch of the imagination that those abuses can be compared in scope, range, or deadliness to the regime's indiscriminate use of Scud missiles, cluster bombs, barrel bombs, and napalm."

According to the LCC, 22 people were killed across Syria on Thursday. CNN cannot independently verify the figures.

Concern about refugees

Meanwhile, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees has called for donor nations to step up funding to help refugees fleeing Syria.

Antonio Guterres warned of serious repercussions if funding is not ramped up.

"This is not just any crisis. It requires a special mechanism of support," he said after meeting with Jordanian officials Wednesday.

Normal humanitarian aid budgets are simply not enough, he said, and if more money does not pour in, "the consequences could be devastating for the Syrian people and for regional stability," he said.

-- CNN's Alexander Felton contributed to this report.