Amid new deaths in Syria and new threats of individual sanctions, the veto sparked the outrage of European nations, which proposed the resolution, and the United States, which said the council had "utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge."

Nine countries voted late Tuesday for the text which had called for "targeted measures" if Assad pursues his clampdown, which the UN says has left at least 2,700 dead.

Russia and China voted against, killing the resolution because of their veto power as permanent council members. South Africa, India, Brazil and Lebanon abstained, reaffirming a divide in the 15-member body since NATO launched air strikes in Libya using UN resolutions to justify the action.Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said the European resolution was "based on a philosophy of confrontation." The threat of action was "unacceptable," he added.

Many opponents raised the air strikes in Libya and fears that it could be renewed in Syria to justify their votes.

China said it exercised its veto because the resolution would have "blindly" pressured the Arab nation and not helped.

"Some countries submitted a draft resolution to blindly impose pressure and even threatened sanctions against Syria. This would not help to ease the situation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.

US ambassador Susan Rice called the comments a "cheap ruse by those who would rather sell arms to the Syrian regime than stand with the Syrian people."

Rice called on the council to impose "tough, targeted sanctions" and an arms embargo against Syria.

"The United States is outraged that this council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to regional peace and security," she said.

The US ambassador later led her delegation out of the council chamber after Syria's ambassador Bashar Jaafari accused the United States of "genocide" in a long attack on the western countries.

Russia has proposed an alternative resolution, which condemns the opposition violence as well as that of the government and calls for dialogue to end the crisis. The European nations vowed however that it would not come to a vote.

The double veto by Russia and China was a "vote against the Arab Spring," France's UN envoy Gerard Araud said outside the council chamber.

Western governments and human rights watchdogs have expressed mounting criticism of the council's failure to adopt any resolution on Syria, which has since mid-March been shaken by an unprecedented protest movement Assad has sought to crush using deadly force.

In the latest violence, at least 11 people were shot dead by security forces on Tuesday, including six in the central province of Homs and two in the northwest of the country, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The other three were killed in various centers of protest across the country, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Canada announced new sanctions against Syrian oil exports and investment in its oil fields. The government also added 27 people said to be close to Assad and 12 entities linked to the government to a list of people or companies facing a travel ban and assets freeze.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced support for the proposed UN resolution and said he would soon announce sanctions against neighboring Syria.

Amnesty International meanwhile highlighted cases where Syrian activists had been attacked in other countries and called for stronger action against "Syrian embassies" behind such intimidation.

The rights watchdog said it had documented cases of attacks and intimidation against 30 Syrian activists in Britain, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

France confirmed it had launched an investigation after thugs attacked a protest in Paris.

A foreign ministry spokesman said arrests had been made and extra police protection assigned to Syrian opposition protests after the August 26 attack.

In Sweden, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt warned: "If there are diplomats who engage in activities in this country that are not compatible with their diplomatic status they are not welcome in Sweden."

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Russia and China joined forces on Tuesday to veto a European-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Syria and hinting it could face sanctions if its bloody crackdown on protesters continues.

The decision by Moscow and Beijing to use their veto power, Western diplomats told Reuters, could indicate that the Security Council might be headed for a longer-term deadlock on issues related to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the “Arab Spring” pro-democracy movements in the region.

The draft resolution received nine votes in favor and four abstentions from Brazil, India, Lebanon and South Africa. Russia and China cast the only votes against the resolution, which was drafted by France with the cooperation of Britain, Germany and Portugal.

“We cannot today doubt the meaning of this veto of this text,” French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud told the 15-nation council. “This is not a matter of wording. It is a political choice. It is a refusal of all resolutions of the council against Syria.”

“This veto will not stop us,” he added. “No veto can give carte blanche to the Syrian authorities.”The United Nations says Syrian military operations against demonstrators have killed at least 2,700 civilians.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Washington was “outraged” by what diplomats said was a “double veto” by Moscow and Beijing, adding that the time had long past for the Security Council to adopt “tough targeted sanctions” on Damascus.

“The crisis in Syria will stay before the Security Council and we will not rest until this council rises to meet its responsibilities,” she said.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said that he, too, was “deeply disappointed” by the rejection of the resolution.

Regarding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s promises of reforms, Lyall Grant said: “There is no sign of reform or a genuine attempt to address the concerns of the Syrian population.”

He later read a joint statement by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal, telling reporters “those who blocked this resolution will have that on their conscience,” and that it was a “bitter blow” to those fighting for democracy in Syria.

NO SUPPORT FROM ‘BRICS’ NATIONS

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council that Moscow’s veto reflected “a conflict of political approaches” between Russia and the European council members.

Churkin said that Moscow was firmly opposed to the threat of sanctions against Damascus, adding that what he described as the confrontational approach of the European delegations was “against the peaceful settlement of the crisis.”

He reiterated his concerns that passing the European resolution on Syria could have opened the door to a Libya-style military intervention in the Syrian authorities’ six-month crackdown on anti-government demonstrations there.

Churkin added, however, that Moscow would prefer it if Syria was “quicker with implementing the promised changes.”

Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said that Beijing opposed the idea of “interference in (Syria’s) internal affairs.”

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said that the Western powers’ “aggressive” rhetoric against his country had helped him defeat their draft resolution. He also blasted countries for hosting the Syrian “terrorists” opposed to his government.

Ja’afari appeared to be referring to Syria’s neighbor Turkey, which on Tuesday offered refuge in Turkey to a Syrian colonel who joined the revolt against Assad.

Rice and other members of the U.S. delegation walked out of the council chambers during Ja’afari’s speech. Lyall Grant also left while the Syrian envoy was speaking.

For months, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — the “BRICS” countries — have criticized the United States and European council members for allegedly allowing NATO to overstep its Security Council mandate to protect civilians in Libya.

No BRICS country supported the Syria resolution. No diplomats had expected Lebanon, which has had a complicated relationship with its neighbor Syria, to support the draft.

The failed resolution was a watered-down version of previous drafts that had threatened Syria with sanctions if it ignored international demands that it halt its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Later drafts removed the word sanctions, though this was not enough to satisfy Russia and China.

Although it voted for the draft resolution, Washington was unhappy with the extent of the compromises the European had made in an attempt to satisfy the BRICS, diplomats said.