REPORT: Russia says Syria envoy's mandate in question after Arab move

Separately, the United Nations refugee agency voiced deep concern at reports of mass deportations of Syrians from Turkey and said it had taken up the issue with Turkish authorities.               

Turkish officials said that Turkey sent hundreds of refugees back to Syria after clashes with military police at their camp near the border in a protest over living conditions, although the foreign ministry later said 50-60 Syrians had returned voluntarily.                     

"UNHCR is very concerned with reports of a serious incident and allegations of possible deportations from Akcakale Tent City in the past 24 hours," Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters.

On the field: 

16 Syrian students were killed, and 22 others were wounded on Thursday when rebel mortar bombs landed on the canteen of Damascus University's College of Architecture, state-run media said.   

Al-Ikhbariya television showed images of doctors pumping the chests of at least two young men and blood splattered on the floor of what appeared to be an outdoor canteen.
         
This comes as fierce battles erupted in the outskirts of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, while army tanks hit insurgent enclaves near the Syrian capital.             
Clashes raged on a main road linking the southern Damascus area of Yarmuk to Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, said the Britain-based group.                       

Both districts have witnessed fighting in recent months, with rebels taking up positions all along the capital's southern belt despite army attempts to force the insurgency out of the city.          

The Observatory said that fighting was also reported in the southwestern district of Qadam, while army tanks pounded the nearby town of Daraya.             

Damascus has suffered an escalation in violence in recent days. Rebels have stepped up mortar attacks on districts in the capital and the army has clashed daily with insurgents in several neighborhoods.             
Thursday's violence comes a day after at least 148 people were killed in violence across Syria, the Observatory said. Among them were 63 civilians, 28 soldiers and 57 rebel fighters.