Universities close as Syria blast toll rises
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Syrians gather at the scene of an explosion outside Aleppo University, between the university dormitories and the architecture faculty, on Tuesday. At least 87 people were killed and dozens of others injured in a blast that rocked the top academic institution in northern Syria's embattled city. Agence France-Presse |
Universities were closed across Syria on Wednesday to mark a day of mourning called after twin blasts tore through an Aleppo campus while students were taking exams, killing at least 87 people.
Observers warned that the toll from Tuesday's blasts in Syria's war-ravaged northern commercial capital could rise beyond 100, making it one of the bloodiest attacks in Syria's 22-month conflict.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, but the government and rebels have blamed each other.
Opposition activists said government jets had carried out an airstrike on the campus, but a military official said ground-to-air missiles fired by rebels had fallen short.
State television said "terrorists launched two rockets" at the campus.
The university lies in a government-controlled area of the battleground northern city, which has been wracked by violence since last summer when government forces launched an offensive to halt a rebel advance.
Russia on Wednesday condemned the blasts in Aleppo and blamed the explosions on "terrorists" it said were seeking revenge for losses in the conflict with government forces.
"We condemn the latest mass killing in the most decisive way," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. It called the explosions "revenge by terrorists for significant losses they have sustained in the confrontation with government forces".
Meanwhile, visiting Iranian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian reiterated the need for a peaceful solution to end the Syrian crisis while meeting his Chinese counterpart Zhai Jun and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing on Wednesday.
The will of the Syrian people should be respected, and the majority of Syrians want peace, and hope to resolve the crisis through reforms and political means, and they do not accept foreign intervention, Amir Abdollahian said.
He warned that some Western countries are trying to turn Syria into a base for terrorism by importing extremists and other violent forces into the region.
Immediately after the Aleppo University blast, the education minister called for a nationwide "day of mourning" and said President Bashar al-Assad ordered the "immediate rebuilding of damaged parts of the university", state television reported.
Elsewhere in Syria on Wednesday, the army sent reinforcements to the town of Daraya, southwest of Damascus, as warplanes and rockets bombarded the rebel enclave.
Clashes raged in the town meanwhile, pitting rebels against advancing troops.
Amateur video posted on the Internet by activists showed a massive tower of smoke rising above the now mostly empty town, which once boasted a population of about 200,000.
AFP-China Daily-Reuters-Xinhua
