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Death Toll Rises in Syria University Bombing


A supporter walks in front of a row of motorized rickshaws covered with banners supporting the 23 defendants in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 30, 2014. (Robert Carmichael/VOA)
A supporter walks in front of a row of motorized rickshaws covered with banners supporting the 23 defendants in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 30, 2014. (Robert Carmichael/VOA)
Fighting continues in areas across Syria Wednesday. Meanwhile, a Syrian rights group says the death toll from two explosions at the University of Aleppo has risen to 87.

The opposition Local Coordination Committees reported shelling by government forces in Daraa, Homs and the suburbs around the capital, Damascus.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 150 people were wounded in Tuesday's blasts in Aleppo and that the death toll could go higher.

The group told VOA there has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings.

Among the dead are students and refugees who had settled at the campus in Syria's largest city.

State media describe the explosions as a "terrorist attack," but did not specify the number of victims. The country's education ministry says classes and exams will be suspended at the university Wednesday to mourn those who were killed.

The cause of the explosions is not clear, but the government and opposition activists blamed each other.

Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub, has been wracked by violence since rebels launched an all-out assault on the city in July 2012. The university is in government-controlled territory.

The observatory says nearly 200 people were killed Tuesday across Syria as rebel fighters continued their push to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The 21-month conflict has killed at least 60,000 people.
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