Syria has denied accusations by UN special envoy Kofi Annan that it used heavy weapons or helicopters in clashes in the village of Tremseh last week.

Jihad Makdissi, spokesman for Syria's Foreign Ministry, said Mr Annan's comments about the fighting, which activists called a massacre, were rushed.

He added at least 37 fighters and two civilians were killed during a security-force action against Tremseh, in central Hama.

The government said rebels were launching attacks on other areas from the village.

Activists' estimates of the death toll range from 100 to 220, many of them whole families. United Nations monitors said there was heavy fighting in Tremseh on Thursday.

"Government forces did not use planes or helicopters or tanks or artillery," Mr Makdissi said. "The heaviest weapon used was an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade].

"What happened was not a massacre ... [it] was a military operation.

They were clashes between security forces, whose duty is to defend civilians, and heavily armed forces that don't believe in a political solution."

Syria's bloody revolt against President Bashar al Assad is now in its 17th month.

Video published by activists said to be from the village has shown blood drenched and burned corpses of young men, who could have been rebel fighters.

Mr Makdissi also responded to reports of the desertion of General Manaf Tlas, a member of the Assad inner circle, saying he left without permission.

It was the first Government acknowledgment of his disappearance, but Mr Makdissi did not comment on reports that Gen Tlas defected to the opposition.

The desertion of Gen Tlas, a cadet-college classmate and personal friend of Mr Assad, was one of the first signs earlier this month of cracks appearing in the governing elite. While the US and its European and Arab allies are wary of rebel forces in Syria, which have proved fractious, they hope an erosion of support for Mr Assad within the elite may in time allow a political transition without him.

Mr Annan, who is leading efforts to implement a peace initiative in Syria, said that Syria had violated its commitments to UN-backed peace efforts.

He said: "I am shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Tremseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry such as artillery, tanks and helicopters.

"This is in violation of the Government's undertaking to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centres and its commitment to the six-point plan."

Mr Annan's accusations were repeated in a letter sent to Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid al Moualem.

Mr Makdissi said: "The least that can be said about this letter about what happened in Tremseh is that it did not rely on facts.

"As diplomatically as possible, we say that this letter was very rushed."

He added statements from UN observers confirmed Syria's version of events.

The group said the violence appeared to be attacks targeting rebels and opposition activists.

However, their report also said artillery and mortars were used and a day earlier monitors in the province reported use of helicopters and indiscriminate fire. Mr Makdissi said accusations of a fierce attack were implausible given the tiny size of the village.

l The Red Cross says fighting in Syria has become so widespread the conflict is in effect a civil war. It means combatants will now be subject to the Geneva Conventions, leaving them more exposed to war crimes prosecutions.