Syrian rebels could be armed as all military options considered Published on Friday 1 June 2012 12:48 FOREIGN Secretary William Hague has said military intervention in Syria would have to take place on a much larger scale than the operations in Libya. UK government refuses to rule out any military action including arming rebels Activists post video of 11 workers being killed at state-owned factory He said that while the Syrian regime had ignored the peace plan devised by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, it remained "much the best option." Mr Hague said: "What I have put to the Russians is the case that for their own interests it would be better to use their leverage to make sure that even now the Assad regime implements that plan. Otherwise, Syria could face a state of collapse, of the kind of sectarian conflict that I have been talking about. Are there other options in the future? Well, we would have to look at all options but we would do that with our allies, bearing in mind of course what can be secured at the United Nations Security Council and what is practical and effective. So we are not ruling anything out but a military intervention in Syria, as I have always pointed out, would have to be on a vastly greater scale than was the case in Libya and it would have to enjoy broad international support, so we are not at that stage at this point now. Mr Hague was speaking before he held talks with Syrian opposition groups today. Downing Street said further sanctions were being considered and warned the Assad regime that the Government would not "abandon" the Syrian people. The UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency meeting in Geneva at the UK's request to discuss the situation in a round of diplomatic action triggered by the "sickening" massacre in Houla, where regime forces have been blamed for killing more than 100 people. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called on Syria to stop its attacks, saying UN observers monitoring the ceasefire brokered by envoy Kofi Annan were not there to watch the killings of innocent people. Meanwhile, activitists in Syria said today gunmen have killed 11 workers at a state factory - the second execution-style shooting reported in the country in less than a week. The shooting near the town of Qusair in Homs province happened as the fertiliser workers were on their way to their jobs in a bus that came under fire, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A pro-government Facebook page, the Homs News Network, posted photos of 11 men on the floor of what appeared to be a classroom. It blamed the rebel Free Syrian Army, saying the workers were killed for being state employees. The opposition blamed the government. Yesterday, 13 bound corpses, many apparently shot execution-style, were found in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour near the Iraqi border. The men were believed to be workers for an oil company. It was unclear who killed them. The uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March last year with largely peaceful protests calling for reform. A fierce government crackdown prompted many in the opposition take up arms.