United Nations officials have headed to the Syrian town of Tremseh to investigate reports of a massacre by pro-government forces that resulted in the death of hundreds.

While a spokesman for Syria's military claims the army killed "many terrorists," not civilians in a "special operation... targeting armed terrorist groups and their leadership hide-outs" in Tremseh, residents say otherwise.

"I swear that we don't have any terrorists, Salafists, or anyone from the outside here," Tremseh resident Umm Khaled told the Observer. "People have been terrified ever since (regime forces) came to the village in January and killed 40 of us. This time they stole from our homes, they robbed jewellery from women. All of this because we support the revolution?"

A second resident sad, "They shot many civilians in the head and then burnt the bodies. They hand-cuffed civilians and then shot them in the head. They burnt shops and houses with families inside. After what happened, the FSA members tried to get inside the village to help out with burying the martyrs and tending to the wounded but they couldn't.

"The criminals took many martyrs' bodies and wounded civilians with them and there are many missing people and burnt dead bodies with no way to identify them."

The UN reports that the massacre resulted in the deaths of over 200, and residents say 600 casualties are being treated with the scale of the carnage yet to be known as body counts are still taking place.

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Video from the Guardian: More than 200 killed as Syrian regime attacks Tremseh, say activists (warning: graphic images)