The UN Security Council has condemned the Syrian government for a deadly crackdown on protesters.
The council statement "condemns the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities".
The statement was adopted over the fears of some members that any action could lead to Libya-style intervention.
It comes as the Syrian army attacks Hama, a centre of opposition protest, with reports of much loss of life.
Dozens of people are believed to have been killed in the action against Hama, with residents saying tanks have now shot their way into Assi (Orontes) Square, in the centre of the city of 800,000 people.
Human rights groups say at least 140 people have been killed in the Syrian unrest since Sunday, mainly in Hama, adding to a civilian death toll believed to be more than 1,600 since March.
Accountable
"The Security Council expresses its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Syria, and expresses profound regret at the death of many hundreds of people," the statement said.
"The Security Council calls for an immediate end to all violence and urges all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions."
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The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria”
UN Security Council statement
UN Security Council statement
It said that those responsible for the violence should be held accountable.
The BBC's correspondent at the UN in New York, Barbara Plett, says the statement is less than what the European states on the council would have liked, but is more than might have been expected given the strong opposition to saying anything on Syria from some members.
European members of the 15-nation council had pushed for a strong resolution condemning the Syrian government and calling for a rights inquiry.
Instead, a less-weighty statement was adopted, stressing that the only solution to the crisis was a Syrian-led political process, in effect ruling out outside intervention, says our UN correspondent.
Syria's neighbour, Lebanon, while not going as far as blocking adoption of the statement, disassociated itself from the text after it was adopted - a procedure last used decades ago.
'Massacre'
Anti-government protests began in March, inspired by the successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and soon spread to many cities across the country.
Unverified amateur footage purportedly shows newly-dug graves in Syria
Mr Assad has promised reforms, but blames the violence on "armed criminal gangs" backed by unspecified foreign powers.
Access to events in Syria has been severely restricted for international journalists and it is rarely possible to verify accounts by witnesses and opposition activists.
Activists and residents of Hama said tanks pushed in to the city centre on Wednesday morning, reaching Assi Square.
Earlier, reports spoke of columns of armoured vehicles heading towards the city from where the sound of shelling could be heard.
One resident of the city told the BBC's Damascus correspondent, Lina Sinjab, that he believed a massacre was taking place. He said he had seen piles of bodies in different parts of the city.
There are reports that families trying to flee the city have been shot at to force them to turn back.
Some families who have managed to leave have described the situation as worse than the 1980s, when the late President Hafez Assad, father of the current leader, crushed an uprising, leaving at least 10,000 people dead and the old quarter flattened.
Communication with the city is all but completely cut off, as are water and electricity, correspondents say.
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