Syria: Prisoner forced to rape male inmate; Amnesty flags appalling abuses'

Damascus: A male prisoner was allegedly forced against his wishes to rape another male inmate in a Syrian jail by the prison guard.

According to reports, the guard gave the prisoner two options, to either rape another fellow inmate or to face death. Left with no option, the man had non-consensual sex with the prisoner.

This incident comes close on the heels of Amnesty International alleging that Syrian authorities are committing torture on a "massive scale" in government prisons including beatings, electric shocks, rape and psychological abuse, amounting to crimes against humanity.

More than 17,700 people are estimated to have died in custody in Syria since the country's conflict began in March 2011, an average of more than 300 each month, the watchdog said in a report.

Anyone seen as an opponent of the government is at risk of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance and death in custody, according to Amnesty.

It said the report was based on interviews with 65 torture survivors, mostly civilians, who described "appalling abuse and inhuman conditions" in intelligence agency detention centres and the Saydnaya Military Prison near Damascus.

Most described witnessing at least one, if not several, deaths in custody, Amnesty said.

Detainees are frequently subjected to a beating, known as a "welcome party", after their arrival at a prison by guards using tools such as silicone bars or hoses.

"They had to break us; they treated us like animals. They wanted people to be as inhuman as possible," according to a former detainee identified as Samer, who Amnesty said was arrested while transporting humanitarian supplies.

"I didn't see anyone die but I saw the blood, it was like a river," he said.