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The head of the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations has said that the situation in Syria now amounts to a full-scale civil war as witnesses on the ground described fresh shelling on Homs and heavy fighting in other cities.

“Yes, I think we can say that,” Herve Ladsous, the head of the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations, told reporters in New York on Tuesday, when asked whether he believed Syria was now in a state of civil war.

“Clearly what is happening is that the government of Syria lost some large chunks of territory, several cities to the opposition, and wants to retake control.”

Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping department, told Al Jazeera that Landous’ description was “related to what is going on in the last five days.”