He was speaking after almost 80 men were found shot dead and dumped in a river in the battlefront city of Aleppo yesterday.

A make-shift morgue was set up, where the bodies of dozens of young men are being held. 

They were found with their hands tied and a single bullet wound to the head - activists are calling this incident a massacre. It's not clear who carried out the attack - but rebels and the government are blaming each other. 

Brahimi told the divided UN Security Council last night it has to act now to halt the carnage.

Meanwhile Ireland's preparing to give another €4.7 million in aid to help victims of the conflict.

The announcement will be made at a humanitarian pledging conference for Syria chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon - where it's hoped funds of up to $1.5 billion can be raised.

Minister Costello says the money will go to those most in need: