BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations says that during a five-year government siege and two months of fighting earlier this year in which government forces captured eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus from rebels both sides committed war crimes.

The U.N. Commission of Inquiry in a report released Wednesday in Geneva condemned the government siege on the suburbs known as eastern Ghouta, saying at least 265,000 individuals lived in the area during the "longest running siege in modern history."

The Syrian government siege ended in April when government forces and their allies launched a crushing offensive to capture the area leaving hundreds of people dead.

The 23-page report urged all parties to the conflict in Syria to desist from resorting to sieges in the future, concluding they are characterized by war crimes.