A top Vatican official on Monday warned the war in Syria could escalate into a global conflict, a day after Pope Francis made an impassioned call for peace.

A top Vatican official on Monday warned the war in Syria could escalate into a global conflict, a day after Pope Francis made an impassioned call for peace.

"Syria conflict has all the ingredients to explode into a war of global dimensions," Monsignor Mario Toso, head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told Vatican radio.

"The solution to Syria's problems is not in armed intervention.

Violence will not decrease and there is a risk of a conflagration that extends to other countries," he said.

The comments came the United States and France sought to build support for strikes against Syria over chemical allegations.

Francis called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria.