Two explosions tore through one of Syria's biggest universities on the first day of student exams on Tuesday, killing at least 82 people and wounding 162, Syria's UN envoy told the UN security council.
"A cowardly terrorist act targeted the students of Aleppo university as they sat for their midterm examinations," Bashar Ja'afari told the council during a debate on counter-terrorism.
Bloodshed has disrupted civilian life across Syria since a violent government crackdown in early 2011 on peaceful demonstrations for democratic reform turned the unrest into an armed insurgency bent on overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad.
More than 50 countries asked the UN security council on Tuesday to refer the crisis to the international criminal court, which prosecutes people for genocide and war crimes. But Russia – Assad's long-standing ally and arms supplier – blocked the initiative, calling it "ill-timed and counterproductive".