Syria death toll 'exceeds 5,000', says UN's Navi Pillay

More than 5,000 people are now believed to have been killed in the uprising in Syria, the UN's top human rights official has said, BBC reports.

Navi Pillay told a closed session of the Security Council that 14,000 people are believed to have been arrested and 12,400 fled to neighbouring countries.

Syria's ambassador to the UN rejected the figures, saying Ms Pillay was "not objective and "not fair".

At least 20 people died in clashes on Monday, opposition activists said.

Amid the violence, local polls were held, but turnout is expected to have been very low.

Authorities said the vote had been freer than in previous years, but the opposition called for a boycott and launched a general strike.

The Syrian state news agency said people had flocked to polling stations.

But in opposition strongholds activists said there were few signs that an election was even happening, and almost no-one was voting, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in neighbouring Turkey.