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From left, French representative Gerard Araud, British representative Mark Lyall Grant and U.S. representative Susan Rice confer before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at United Nations headquarters on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending Syria's bloodshed, despite international outrage Saturday over a devastating bombardment of the city of Homs by President Bashar Assad's forces. Activists said more than 200 were killed in the bloodiest episode of the nearly 11-month uprising.

The veto and the show of support by Russia raised concerns that Assad's regime could now unleash even greater violence to crush the revolt against his rule, assured that his ally would prevent international action while continuing its weapons sales to Damascus.

It could also push an opposition despairing of other options further into an armed response, fueling a cycle of violence that threatens to tear apart the Arab nation.

A movement that began with peaceful protests in March has already turned increasingly to the weapons of rebel soldiers to defend itself against Assad's crackdown.

The overnight onslaught on restive neighbourhoods in Homs, Syria's third largest city, signalled a willingness by Assad's regime to bring a new level of violence to stamp out its opponents. 

Its timing, hours before a planned vote on the U.N. resolution, suggested Assad was confident of his ally Russia's protection on the world stage.

Activists' reports of the death toll from the assault could not be independently confirmed.

The Syrian government denied any bombardment took place at all, saying the reports were opposition propaganda aimed at pressuring the United Nations. It said bodies of the dead that appeared in activists' online videos were those of people who had been kidnapped previously by "terrorists."

Residents of Homs on Saturday described a night of relentless bombardment by mortars and rockets that lasted until dawn, sending them fleeing to lower floors and basements. When daylight came, dozens of buildings were left punctured by shells, facades collapsed, and some streets were stained with blood.

Thousands gathered for a funeral ceremony for some of the victims in the worst hit neighbourhood, Khaldiyeh, where more than 60 coffins and bodies in white shrouds were lined up in a park, according to footage of the scene.

"A few more nights like this one and Homs will be erased from the map," Ammar, a resident, said, speaking on condition that only his first name be used for fear he and his family could be targeted. "We are being massacred."

The bloodshed added new urgency to negotiations over the resolution, as Western and Arab nations amended drafts to overcome Russia's opposition.

"The Assad regime must come to an end," President Barack Obama said in a statement Saturday before the vote, calling on the Security Council to "stand against the Assad regime's relentless brutality."

Early drafts demanded Assad carry out an Arab League peace plan by which he would hand over his powers to his vice-president and allow formation of a unity government. That was amended to an expression of support of the plan without detailing its provisions. Also added were calls for "all armed groups," a reference to army defectors, to stop violence.

But Russia demanded further changes, saying the draft did not make enough demands on the armed opposition in Syria and that calls for Assad to step aside could wreck chances for a negotiated solution to the country's upheaval.

In the end, the resolution's proponents pushed ahead with a vote, challenging Moscow to veto or back down.

After the double veto, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said her country was "disgusted" by the vote.

French Ambassador Gerard Araud said Russia and China had "made themselves complicit in a policy of repression carried out by the Assad regime."

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused fellow council members of being inflexible, saying proposed Russian amendments had been ignored. Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said his country joined Russia in voting against the resolution for the same reason.

Syria has been a key Russian ally since Soviet times, and Moscow remains a key arms supplier to Damascus. Russia has opposed any U.N. call that could be interpreted as advocating military intervention or regime change. Russia and China also used their veto powers in October to block an attempt to condemn the violence in Syria.

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Snow reported from the United Nations. Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Cairo and Bouazza ben Bouazza in Tunis contributed to this report.