Syrian opposition activists say government forces with tanks and helicopters on Thursday killed more than 150 people, mostly civilians, in a village in Hama province.

The activists and witnesses say troops shelled the village of Treimsa Thursday before storming the area. Estimates of the number of deaths are as high as 220.

State-run Syrian media say troops battled an armed group in the area and, as in previous mass killings, blamed the massacre on those it calls terrorists. International envoy Kofi Annan said in a statement Friday he is “shocked and appalled” by the reports and condemns the violence in the strongest possible terms.

The reported massacre came as the U.N. Security Council debates imposing tough new sanctions on the Syrian government if it keeps attacking civilians with heavy weapons.

Russia is threatening to veto the Western-backed resolution. It wants to simply extend the mandate of the U.N. observer mission in Syria for another three months.

US warns against chemical weapon use

Meanwhile, the United States says the international community will hold Syrian officials accountable if they fail to meet their duty to safeguard the country’s stockpiles of chemical weapons.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the U.S. has repeatedly warned Syria it is obligated to protect those weapons.

Nuland made her comments after a prominent U.S. newspaper reported that Syria has started moving part of its chemical weapons arsenal out of storage facilities.

The Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. officials as saying Syria may use the weapons against rebels or civilians.

Syria is believed to have reserves of sarin nerve agent, mustard gas and cyanide.

The Journal noted that U.S. officials and their allies in the region have been watching amid the conflict in Syria for changes in the status or location of Syria’s alleged chemical weapons.

Source:VOA News