U.N.'s Ban warns of "imminent" threat of Syrian civil war

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - There is a growing threat of full-scale civil war erupting in Syria, where more than a year of violence between government forces and opposition fighters shows no signs of abating, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday.

"The Syrian people are bleeding," Ban told reporters after addressing the U.N. Security Council behind closed doors. "They are angry. They want peace and dignity. Above all, they all want action."

"The danger of a civil war is imminent and real," he said, adding that "terrorists are exploiting the chaos."

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Eric Walsh)