80 civilians killed in shelling in Syria: U.N.

At least 80 civilians were killed and several injured when armed groups shelled those trying to flee violence in Hama, Syria, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

"The U.N. is deeply alarmed by reports of increased fighting and airstrikes in northwestern central Syria, resulting in death and injury to scores of civilians and damage to critical civilian infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and IDP [for internally displaced persons] collective centers," the Anadolu Agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, as saying to the reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

He further said that the airstrikes on Wednesday in rural Idlib completely destroyed a school, while on Tuesday, "shelling on people trying to flee Wadi al-Azeib in rural Hama, resulted in the killing of 80 people".

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.