The U.N.'s top human rights body harshly condemned Syria on Friday for the massacre last week of more than 100 civilians, apparently at the hands of government troops and pro-regime thugs.

But Syria's most important ally and protector, Russia, voted against the measure by the U.N. Human Rights Council and backed the Syrian government's conclusion that "extremists" and "militants" — words Damascus uses to refer to rebel fighters — were behind the killings.

A majority of countries in the 47-nation rights council supported a U.S. and Arab-led resolution condemning "in the strongest possible terms such an outrageous use of force against the civilian population" in a cluster of villages known as Houla.

According to preliminary U.N. investigations, at least 49 children under the age of 10 were among the dead — with entire families apparently executed in their homes. U.N. investigators have said there is strong evidence that pro-regime fighters were behind the massacre.