<p>Syrian government forces killed at least 16 people and wounded some 340 on Tuesday when they unleashed a heavy artillery barrage on a rebel-held district of the city of Homs, activists said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The bombardment rained down as International Committee of the Red Cross officials tried to negotiate a halt to the fighting to allow them to bring aid to civilians suffering in horrendous conditions after 18 days of attacks on Homs.<br /><br />In Damascus, security forces opened fire on demonstrators overnight, wounding at least four, activists said, in the latest sign that the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad was taking a grip on the capital as well as the provinces.<br /><br />Western powers and the Arab League prepared for a meeting of the “Friends of Syria” contact group in Tunisia on Friday to pressure Assad to step down, while Russia and China backed Assad’s own program for reforms.<br /><br />Activists said the government forces launched the artillery attack on Homs after rebel fighters holding the opposition Baba Amro district blocked troops from entering.<br />The London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights said at least 250 shells and rockets had hit Baba Amro since the morning.<br /><br />The government forces backed by armor and under the control of Alawite officers, from the same minority sect as Assad, have been advancing on Baba Amro, a Muslim Sunni neighbourhood, since the offensive on Homs began on February 3. <br /><br />Elsewhere, an activist group in Kfar Tkharim near the Turkish border said rebel fighters had killed five soldiers and captured two in an ambush on a government column.</p>
<p>Syrian government forces killed at least 16 people and wounded some 340 on Tuesday when they unleashed a heavy artillery barrage on a rebel-held district of the city of Homs, activists said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The bombardment rained down as International Committee of the Red Cross officials tried to negotiate a halt to the fighting to allow them to bring aid to civilians suffering in horrendous conditions after 18 days of attacks on Homs.<br /><br />In Damascus, security forces opened fire on demonstrators overnight, wounding at least four, activists said, in the latest sign that the 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad was taking a grip on the capital as well as the provinces.<br /><br />Western powers and the Arab League prepared for a meeting of the “Friends of Syria” contact group in Tunisia on Friday to pressure Assad to step down, while Russia and China backed Assad’s own program for reforms.<br /><br />Activists said the government forces launched the artillery attack on Homs after rebel fighters holding the opposition Baba Amro district blocked troops from entering.<br />The London-based Syrian Network for Human Rights said at least 250 shells and rockets had hit Baba Amro since the morning.<br /><br />The government forces backed by armor and under the control of Alawite officers, from the same minority sect as Assad, have been advancing on Baba Amro, a Muslim Sunni neighbourhood, since the offensive on Homs began on February 3. <br /><br />Elsewhere, an activist group in Kfar Tkharim near the Turkish border said rebel fighters had killed five soldiers and captured two in an ambush on a government column.</p>