Syria faced a groundswell of international condemnation over its deadly crackdown on the city of Hama but NATO's chief on Monday ruled out a Libya-style intervention to halt the bloodshed.

Russia, which has threatened to veto any UN Security Council resolution against the government of close ally President Bashar al-Assad, joined a long list of nations to condemn the Damascus regime's brutality.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the "use of force against both peaceful civilians and representatives of state structures is unacceptable and should be stopped immediately."

Global leaders fiercely attacked Assad's government after reports that his security forces killed nearly 140 people in an assault on pro-democracy protesters in Hama.

But NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen ruled out military support for anti-Assad forces, on the grounds that there is no international consensus in favour of intervention.

"In Libya, we're carrying out an operation based on a clear UN mandate. We have the support of countries in the region. These two conditions are not met in Syria," he told France's Midi Libre regional daily.

The Security Council was due to meet at 2100 GMT on Monday, but British Foreign Secretary William Hague agreed that there was no prospect of achieving a UN mandate for a military operation.

"It's not a remote possibility, even if we were in favour of that, which we're not," he told BBC radio.

"There is no prospect of a legal, morally sanctioned military intervention. And therefore we have to concentrate on other ways of influencing the Assad regime and of trying to help the situation in Syria," he said.

"It is a very frustrating situation."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton meanwhile looked to the UN as the 27-nation bloc tightened the screws on Damascus by beefing up sanctions.

"It is time for the Security Council to take a clear stand on the need to end the violence," Ashton said.

In a statement on Sunday she said it was the duty of Syrian security forces to protect citizens, "not massacre them indiscriminately."

The EU has added a further five Syrians to a blacklist of individuals and businesses associated with the repression, the fourth batch of sanctions slapped so far on the Assad regime.

An EU diplomat told AFP the five, whose names will be released Tuesday when the asset freeze and visa ban come into effect, include military and intelligence figures.

Despite its strong criticism of the recent violence, Russia has with China persistently blocked a Western-drafted Security Council resolution on Syria, to the irritation of other world powers.

US President Barack Obama in a statement Sunday called the reports of the violence in Hama "horrifying" and said they "demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime."

"In the days ahead, the United States will continue to increase our pressure on the Syrian regime, and work with others around the world to isolate the Assad government and stand with the Syrian people," he added.

Leaders from Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey as well as the European parliament have also been quick to voice their condemnation.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Monday: "The fact that the demonstrations have amplified over the last few months shows that repression will never be a substitute for reform.

"A peaceful transition towards democracy must begin immediately."

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