Homs was the site of the deadliest assault of the uprising on Saturday, when activists reported more than 200 people were killed in an overnight bombardment hours before the U.N. vote.
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY
Associated Press
BEIRUT — Days after blocking a U.S.-backed peace plan at the U.N., senior Russian officials pushed for reforms Tuesday during an emergency meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, promoting a settlement to end the uprising without removing him from power.
Thousands of flag-waving government supporters cheered the Russians in the Syrian capital of Damascus, while to the north, Assad’s forces pounded the opposition city of Homs — underscoring the sharp divisions propelling the country toward civil war.
The violence has led to the most severe international isolation in more than four decades of Assad family rule, with country after country calling home their envoys.
France, Italy, Spain and Belgium pulled their ambassadors from Damascus, as did six Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia. Germany, whose envoy left the country this month, said he would not be replaced. The moves came a day after the U.S. closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador.
Turkey, once a strong Assad supporter and now one of his most vocal critics, added its voice to the international condemnation, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying his country cannot remain silent about massacres in Syria.
He said Turkey would “launch a new initiative with countries that stand by the Syrian people instead of the regime.”
In the flashpoints of the conflict, witnesses, residents and human rights workers say Assad’s forces are shelling and firing indiscriminately. On Tuesday, the troops renewed their assault on one of the main centers of the opposition, the city of Homs, with activists saying tanks were closing in on a restive neighborhood.
Despite the assault, members of the rebel Free Syrian Army pledged to protect the besieged Baba Amr neighborhood.
“We are just here to respond and defend the local residents from Assad’s army snipers,” said one fighter, according to Associated Press television footage.
Homs was the site of the deadliest assault of the uprising on Saturday, when activists reported more than 200 people were killed in an overnight bombardment hours before the U.N. vote.