The Syrian regime accused the media and "terrorists" of staging a massacre in a Hama town in a bid to trigger UN-backed intervention.

"The bloodthirsty media in collaboration with gangs of armed terrorists massacred residents of Tremseh village ... to sway public opinion against Syria and its people and provoke international intervention on the eve of a UN Security Council meeting," state-run news agency SANA said.

Syrian troops with tanks and helicopters slaughtered more than 150 people in Tremseh, rights activists said on Friday.