OTTAWA - The Mounties are investigating after the Syrian embassy in Ottawa was splashed with red paint.

RCMP Const. Julie Morel says it's unclear exactly when the paint - which is splattered over the embassy's front entrance - appeared.

An anti-Syrian government protest took place in front of the embassy earlier today, but police say it was peaceful and there is no apparent link between the event and the vandalism.

The damage to the embassy in Ottawa comes as activists in Syria say government forces have killed more than 200 people in a violent crackdown against those protesting President Bashar Assad's rule.

Assad's regime has denied the assault, calling the reports part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups against the government aimed at a pressuring the United Nations to act.

Earlier today, Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for Syria's president to step down.