Syrian government forces attacked opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in cities and towns across the country today as Arab officials confirmed that regional governments would be ready to arm the resistance if the bloodshed did not cease.
The western city of Homs, heart of the uprising against Dr Assad's 11-year-rule, suffered a bombardment of pro-opposition neighbourhoods for the 11th day running. At least six people were reported killed.
Residents also fled from Rankous, a rural town near the capital Damascus, as it came under government artillery fire.
With Dr Assad seemingly oblivious to international condemnation of his campaign to crush the revolt, Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia pushed for a new resolution at the United Nations supporting a peace plan forged at a meeting in Cairo on Sunday.
But Arab League diplomats said that arming the opposition forces was now officially an option. A resolution passed at the meeting urged Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to the opposition. This would allow arms transfers, they confirmed to Reuters.
"We will back the opposition financially and diplomatically in the beginning but if the killing by the regime continues, civilians must be helped to protect themselves. The resolution gives Arab states all options to protect the Syrian people," an Arab ambassador said.
The threat of military support was meant to add pressure on the Syrian leader and his Russian and Chinese allies but it also risks leading to a Libya-style conflict or sectarian civil war.
Smuggled guns are already filtering into Syria but it is not clear if Arab or other governments are behind the deliveries.
Dr Assad, whose Alawite-minority family has ruled the mainly Sunni Muslim country for 42 years, is trying to stamp out pro-democracy demonstrations and stop insurgent raids across Syria country with what UN officials describe as indiscriminate attacks and shoot-to-kill orders.
He dismisses his opponents as terrorists backed by enemy nations in a regional power-play and says he will introduce reforms on his own terms.
While the uprising initially involved rallies by civilians, armed insurrection by the Free Syrian Army, made up largely of army defectors, is increasingly coming into play.
Yesterday, the UN human rights chief chastised the Security Council for failing to act on Syria, saying Dr Assad had been emboldened by its failure to condemn him.
"I am particularly appalled by the ongoing onslaught on Homs. . . . According to credible accounts, the Syrian army has shelled densely populated neighbourhoods of Homs in what appears to be an indiscriminate attack on civilian areas," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a speech to the General Assembly in New York.
Foreign media have had to rely on activists' accounts of the situation because the Syrian government restricts access, although reports from neutral organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch confirm the general picture of widespread violence.
At the United Nations, diplomats said a draft general assembly resolution which supported an Arab League plan and called for the appointment of a joint UN-Arab League envoy on Syria could be put to a vote tomorrow or Thursday.
The resolution is similar to a security council draft vetoed by Russia and China on February 4th that condemned the Dr Assad government and called on him to step aside.
There are no vetoes in general assembly votes and its decisions are not legally binding.
"The situation on the ground is unbearable," the Qatari president of the general assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, told Al Jazeera Television.
"There is an idea for an Arab draft resolution, which I think will be distributed to the member countries today or tomorrow and will be voted on this week."
At the weekend, the Arab League proposed a joint Arab-UN peacekeeping mission be sent to Syria and pledged strong political and material support for the opposition.
That plan received a cautious response from Western powers, who are wary of becoming bogged down militarily in Syria, and was rejected out of hand by the Dr Assad government.
Russia, Dr Assad's main ally and arms supplier, also expressed strong reservations. Moscow said it could not support a peacekeeping mission unless both sides stopped the violence first.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said in Washington that the peacekeeper proposal would be tough to get through, given Russian and Chinese support for Damascus.
"There are a lot of challenges to be discussed . . . and certainly the peacekeeping request is one that will take agreement and consensus," Mrs Clinton said.
Dr Assad can count on the support of Russia, which wants to retain its foothold in the region and counter US influence. He is also closely allied to Iran, which is at odds with the United States, Europe and Israel.
The Arab drive against Dr Assad is led by Sunni-ruled Gulf states, who also see Shia Iran and its shadowy nuclear programme as a threat.
Analysts say the conflict could spread across the Middle East if it is not resolved.
Reuters