(CNN) -- Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi expressed dismay Tuesday at the lack of progress in ending the civil war in Syria and called on the U.N. Security Council to act.
"Syria is being destroyed bit by bit and, in destroying Syria, the region is being pushed into a situation that is extremely bad and extremely important for the entire world," the U.N. and Arab League joint special envoy told reporters after meeting in private with the Security Council.
"That is why I believe Security Council simply cannot continue to say, 'We are in disagreement; therefore, let's wait for better times.' I think they have got to grapple with this problem now."
Aleppo residents pulled at least 80 bodies from the nearby Queiq River on Tuesday. Opposition activists blame the regime forces for the killings. Video and photos show rows of bodies with head wounds and bound hands, some of which show signs of torture, witnesses say.
Photos: Bound bodies found in river
Brahimi blamed the government of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition activists for the impasse. "Objectively, they are cooperating in destroying Syria," he said.
The Security Council has proven ineffectual in brokering a peace, with China and Russia casting vetoes to block resolutions on sanctions.
Brahimi suggested a return to the Geneva communique of last June as a possible way of making progress. The proposal was drawn up during a conference in the Swiss city that brought together representatives from world powers that had been at odds over the conflict.
The resulting proposal called for a cease-fire, a transitional government and a new constitution, though it did not specify whether al-Assad would have to step down.
Russia and China joined France, Britain, the United States and Turkey in agreeing on the plan. Arab League nations also signed on to it. But neither the opposition nor al-Assad's government has signaled a willingness to sign on to it.
Still, the declaration contains "a lot of elements that would provide for a reasonable solution to the conflict," Brahimi said.
"The council has got to reaffirm the attachment and support for Syria's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, also for the rights of every citizen in Syria to their human rights and dignity, irrelevant of gender, religion or any other element," he added.
The communique calls for the creation of a transitional government with full executive powers. "I think that there was a very clever, creative ambiguity in this declaration and I have told them that that ambiguity has to be lifted now," he said. "You've got to say what these full executive powers mean ... all the powers of state have got to go to that government."
Asked about rumors that he planned to resign, Brahimi was resolute: "I am not a quitter," he said. "The United Nations has no choice but to remain engaged with this problem -- whether I am there or not. The moment I feel that I am totally useless, I will not stay one minute more. I didn't want this job. I didn't look for it. I don't need it as a job. So if I'm doing it, it's because -- maybe stupidly -- I feel sense of duty."
Brahimi's predecessor, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, resigned from the same post last August.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Brahimi gave the Security Council "a frank and very grim assessment."
Though "a lot" of council members expressed support for his efforts, there were "no answers," Rice said. "There are no promises of any big breakthrough."
The envoy's comments came on the same day that the executed bodies of scores of men were found Tuesday in Syria, yet another grisly discovery that opposition activists blamed on the government.
Residents pulled 80 of them from the Queiq River in the town of Bustan Al-Qasr, near Aleppo city, opposition activists said.
An opposition video -- the authenticity of which CNN could not verify -- showed a row of bodies splayed on a muddy river bank, their heads bearing wounds, their hands tied behind their backs. Some of the bodies showed signs of torture.
Abu Faris, an opposition spokesman in the Aleppo countryside, said 20 of the victims had been identified by their relatives who said the men had been arrested and detained in Aleppo by Air Force intelligence.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency blamed the killings on Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist opposition group.
"The families have identified a number of the killed, stressing that Jabhat al-Nusra abducted them because of their rejection to cooperate with this terrorist group," SANA reported, citing a media source.
"The bodies, which terrorists and TV misleading channels have claimed that the army killed their owners, were found in the side where terrorists present," SANA quoted one of its reporters as saying.
It was the latest report of mass killings in the Syrian civil war, a battle between al-Assad's government and insurgents.
In all Tuesday, 228 Syrians were killed Tuesday, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
Members of the Free Syrian Army react as they fire a homemade rocket toward regime forces in Deir al-Zor on Sunday, June 16. Tensions in Syria flared in March 2011 during the onset of the Arab Spring, escalating into an ongoing civil war. View the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.
Syrian civil war in photos
The number of Syrian refugees registered with the U.N. jumped by about 110,000 in January.
The number of Syrian refugees registered with the U.N. jumped by about 110,000 in January.
Syrian refugees set up camp, need aid
Reflections of 14-year-old Syrian girl
The Syrian unrest started nearly two years ago when the government cracked down on civilians peacefully protesting government policies. The conflict morphed into a civil war. Since then, it has claimed more than 60,000 lives, according to the United Nations.
"The regime adds another massacre to its record while the entire Arab world and the international community keep watching the Syrian misery in silence and complete hypocrisy," the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
In the opposition video, men can be heard shouting, "This is unbelievable!" and "Some were children, children for God's sake!"
One man can be heard saying, "Tell the world these were not soldiers. They were not fighters. They are human beings. How come they know what the law of gravity is but they don't know anything about human rights."
Opposition groups have regularly reported massacres by government forces and their allies. Some of the more notorious reports include incidents in Taftanaz, Houla, Homs, Hama, Tremseh, Daraya, and Halfaya. Bombings in Aleppo and Damascus have resulted in many deaths.
Great migrations
The international aid group Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, called Tuesday for international donors to support humanitarian operations in opposition-held areas in Syria.
The group said in a statement issued ahead of a donors conference in Kuwait City that areas under government control receive nearly all international aid.
"The current aid system is unable to address the worsening living conditions facing people inside Syria," said Dr. Marie-Pierre Allie, president of MSF. "The participants in the Kuwait City conference must acknowledge the legitimacy of cross-border humanitarian operations intended for Syria and grant them the financial, administrative and logistical support they require."
The number of refugees registered with the United Nations jumped by 110,000 in January, bringing the total to more than half a million.
If the refugees awaiting registration are included, the number exceeds 700,000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said.
Read more: Fleeing violence in nighttime trek to Jordan
"It's an unrelenting flow," UNHCR spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes said in Geneva.
When Syrians flee to neighboring countries, they arrive in need, Wilkes said.
"The last thing that Syrians wanted to do was leave their country," she said, adding that it's not unusual for families to be displaced internally six times before finally deciding to leave their home country.
They often require with health conditions that have gone untreated and require urgent attention, Wilkes said.
Recently, one woman lost a child at a U.N. station shortly after delivery because she had not received basic prenatal care, Wilkes said.
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The exodus of refugees accelerated in the second half of 2012, Wilkes said. A year ago, the United Nations had registered fewer than 20,000 refugees from Syria, which has a population of more than 22 million. Six months ago, the number rose to 120,000. By December, the number had climbed to 471,000. And now, nearly 585,000.
Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon are sheltering the most Syrians, with more than 150,000 each.
"We have in Jordan day shifts and night shifts" to register new refugees, Wilkes said. "In Lebanon, we have double shifts."
U.S. humanitarian aid
U.S. President Barack Obama has approved $155 million in humanitarian aid for people in Syria and refugees fleeing the violence.
That brings the aid total to $365 million, making the United States the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to Syria.
The U.S. government has imposed sanctions against Syria, worked to isolate the regime, and backed the opposition but has refrained from intervening militarily.
CNN's Tom Watkins, Hamdi Alkhshali, Joe Sterling, Ben Brumfield, Salma Abdelaziz and Saad Abedine reported from Atlanta. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this report from Beirut, Lebanon.
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A woman covers her face as she walks through the lines of bodies on Tuesday.
Locals gather on the banks to view the corpses.
Bodies in blue plastic bags lie in a school courtyard while residents try to identify missing relatives.
Residents inspect the bodies.
Men look for their relatives amongst the blue bags.
A man reads prayers for the dead.
Syrian rebels leave their position in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan on Thursday, June 13. The White House said that the Syrian government has crossed a "red line" with its use of chemical weapons and announced it would start arming the rebels.
Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are seen near Qusayr on Thursday, May 30.
Syrian rebels take position in a house during clashes with regime forces in the old city of Aleppo on May 22.
Syrian army soldiers take control of the village of Western Dumayna north of the rebel-held city of Qusayr on Monday, May 13. Syrian troops captured three villages in Homs province, allowing them to cut supply lines to rebels inside Qusayr town, a military officer told AFP.
Rebel fighters fire at government forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, May 12.
Searchers use a flashlight as they look for survivors among the rubble created by what activists say was a missile attack from the Syrian regime, in Raqqa province, Syria, on April 25.
A Kurdish fighter from the "Popular Protection Units" (YPG) takes position inside a building in the majority-Kurdish Sheikh Maqsood area of Aleppo, on Apri. 21.
People walk past destroyed houses in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Sunday, April 21.
Free Syrian Army fighters take positions prior to an offensive against government forces in the Khan al-Assal area, near Aleppo on Saturday, April 20.
Men inspect damage at a house destroyed in an airstrike in Aleppo on April 15.
Syrian and Kurdish rebel fighters walk in the Sheikh Maqsud district of Aleppo on April 14.
A female rebel monitors the movement of Syrian government forces in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood on April 11.
A rebel runs to avoid sniper fire from Syrian government forces in Aleppo on Thursday, April 11.
Syrian rebels observe the movement of Syrian government forces around Al-Kendi hospital in Aleppo on Wednesday, April 10.
Rescue teams and security forces check out the scene of a deadly car bomb explosion in Damascus on April 8.
The fighting has taken a toll on buildings in Aleppo's Saladin district, seen here on April 8.
A Syrian rebel runs for cover in Deir ez-Zor on April 2.
A rebel checks for snipers across the street toward the Citadel in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Free Syrian fighter mourns the death of a friend in Aleppo on March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Syrian opposition fighter runs for cover from Syrian army snipers in Aleppo on Wednesday, March 27.
A Syrian girl covers her face to protect herself from fumes as a street covered with uncollected garbage is fumigated in Aleppo on Sunday, March 24.
A Syrian man and his family drive past damaged buildings in Maarat al-Numan, on Wednesday, March 20.
Syrians carry the body of a Syrian army soldier during a funeral ceremony in Idlib province on Tuesday, March 19.
Syrian rebels take position in Aleppo, the largest city in the country, on March 11.
Syrian men search for their relatives amongst the bodies of civilians executed and dumped in the Quweiq River on March 11.
A Free Syrian Army fighter looks back as smoke rises during fighting between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on the outskirts of Aleppo on Saturday, March 2.
Residents read Shaam News newspapers published by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo on March 2.
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A rebel fighter throws a home-made grenade at Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 16.
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A Syrian woman looks through a bus window in Aleppo on February 14.
Free Syrian Army fighters walk through a dust-filled stairwell in Damascus on February 7.
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A rebel fighter throws a hand grenade inside a Syrian Army base in Damascus on February 3.
People stand in the dust of a building destroyed in an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria on February 3.
Free Syrian Army fighters run as they enter a Syrian Army base during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighborhood of Damascus on February 3.
An unexploded mortar shell fired by the Syrian Army sits lodged in the ground in Damascus on January 25.
Fighters from Fateh al Sham unit of the Free Syrian Army fire on Syrian Army soldiers at a check point in Damascus on January 20.
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks between buildings damaged during Syrian Air Force strikes in Damascus on January 19.
A Syrian rebel fighter tries to locate a government jet fighter in Aleppo on January 18.
Syrian rebels launch a missile near the Abu Baker brigade in Albab on January 16.
A Syrian boy walks near rubbish next to tents at a refugee camp near the northern city of Azaz on the Syria-Turkey border, on January 8.
Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in Aleppo on January 7.
A father reacts after hearing of a shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on January 3.
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Syrians mourn a fallen rebel fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on December 8.
Members of Liwa (Brigade) Salahadin, a Kurdish military unit fighting alongside rebel fighters, monitor the area in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.
A member of Liwa Salahadin aims at a regime fighter in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.
Two young boys sit underneath a washline in a refugee camp on the border between Syria and Turkey near Azaz on December 5.
The bodies of three children, who were allegedly killed in a mortar shell attack that landed close to a bakery in Aleppo, on December 2, are laid out for identification by family members at a makeshift hospital at an undisclosed location of the city.
Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo on December 1 as fighting continues through the night.
Damaged houses in Aleppo are seen after an airstrike on November 29.
A Syrian rebel mourns the death of a comrade in Maraat al-Numan on November 20.
Syrians protesters stand on Assad's portrait during an anti-regime demonstration in Aleppo on November 16.
A Syrian rebel takes cover during fighting against Syrian government forces in Aleppo on November 15.
Syrian opposition fighter Bazel Araj, 19, sleeps next to his pistol in Aleppo on November 11.
A rebel fighter fires at a Syrian government position in Aleppo on November 6.
A Syrian rebel leaps over debris left in the street while running across a "sniper alley" near the Salahudeen district in Aleppo on November 4.
Rebels hold their position in the midst of a battle on November 3 in Aleppo.
A man cries while being treated in a local hospital in a rebel-controlled area of Aleppo on October 31.
A man is treated for wounds after a government jet attacked the Karm al-Aser neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on October 31.
A Syrian rebel interrogates a handcuffed and blindfolded man suspected of being a pro-regime militiaman in Aleppo on October 26.
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A Syrian rebel fires at an army position in the Karm al-Jabal district of Aleppo on October 22.
A wounded Syrian boy sits on the back of a truck carrying victims and wounded people to a hospital following an attack by regime forces in Aleppo on October 21.
A man lies on the ground after being shot by a sniper for a second time as he waits to be rescued by members of the Al-Baraa Bin Malek Battalion, part of the Free Syria Army's Al-Fatah brigade, in Aleppo on October 20.
Syrian army soldiers run for cover during clashes with rebel fighters at Karam al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo on October 20.
Smoke rises after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet fired missiles at the suburbs of the northern province of Idlib on October 16.
A Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on October 11.
A Syrian man mourns the death of his father, who was killed during a government attack in Aleppo on October 10.
A rebel fighter is carried by his friends and laid on a gurney to be treated for gunshot wounds sustained during heavy battles with government forces in Aleppo on October 1.
Syrian rebels help a wounded comrade to an Aleppo hospital after he was injured in a Syrian army strike on September 18.
Free Syria Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16.
A Syrian man carrying grocery bags tries to dodge sniper fire as he runs through an alley near a checkpoint manned by the Free Syria Army in Aleppo on September 14.
A woman walks past a destroyed building in Aleppo on September 13.
Free Syrian Army fighters battle during street fighting against Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo on September 8.
A Syrian man wounded by shelling sits on a chair outside a closed shop in Aleppo on September 4.
A woman sits in her wheelchair next to her house, damaged by a Syrian air raid, near Homs on August 26.
Members of the Free Syrian Army clash with Syrian army soliders in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on August 22.
A man mourns in front of a field hospital on August 21 in Aleppo.
Wounded civilians wait in a field hospital after an air strike on August 21 in Aleppo.
People pray during the funeral of a Free Syrian Army fighter, Amar Ali Amero, on August 21.
A man cries near the graves of his two children killed during a recent Syrian airstrike in Azaz on August 20.
A Syrian woman holds her dead baby as she screams upon seeing her husband's body being covered following an airstrike by regime forces on the town of Azaz on August 15.
A Syrian rebel runs in a street of Selehattin during an attack on the municipal building on July 23.
Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin on July 23.
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Syrian rebels take position near Qusayr on May 10.
A Free Syrian Army member takes cover in underground caves in Sarmin on April 9.
Rebels prepare to engage government tanks that advanced into Saraquib on April 9.
Men say prayers during a ceremony in Binnish on April 9.
A young boy plays with a toy gun in Binnish on April 9.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his horse in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, a year after the uprising began.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14.
A rebel takes position in Al-Qsair on January 27.
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A man stands under a giant Syrian flag outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on December 24, 2011.
A member of the Free Syrian Army looks out over a valley in the village of Ain al-Baida on December 15, 2011.
Members of the Free Syrian Army stand in an valley near the village of Ain al-Baida, close to the Turkish border, on December 15, 2011.
Displaced Syrian refugees walk through an orchard adjacent to Syria's northern border with Turkey on June 14, 2011, near Khirbet al-Jouz.
A Syrian man holds up a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad during a rally to show support for the president in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
Syrians rally to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
A screen grab from YouTube shows thick smoke rising above as Syrian anti-government protesters demonstrate in Moaret Al-Noman on April 29, 2011.
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Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of al-Assad during a rally to show their support for their leader in Damascus on March 29, 2011.
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Syrian protesters chant slogans in support of al-Assad during a rally in Damascus on March 25, 2011.
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