Bombs dropped by suspected Russian warplanes killed at least 12 Syrian schoolchildren on Monday when they hit a classroom in a rebel-held town in Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
A teacher also died in the air strike that hit the town of Injara, some 15km west of Aleppo city, and there were reports of others wounded, some critically, the monitor said.
Social media footage released by opposition activists showed a classroom with destroyed benches and textbooks lying on the floor stained with blood. However, the footage could not be independently verified.
However, Moscow has said that its bombing campaign in Syria was not targeting civilians.
“Russia does not conduct operations against civilians,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told AFP.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday it was an “absolute necessity for Syria and Russia to stop their military operations against civilian populations.”