Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for the horrific crimes committed during the course of the three-year civil war in the country. The resolution came amid repeated appeals by senior United Nations officials for accountability for crimes being committed in the war-torn nation. It was backed by the 13 members of the powerful Council apart from China and Russia and if passed it would have given the ICC mandate to investigate the horrific crimes committed during the course of the conflict in Syria.