Syrian troops have killed at least 100 people, opposition activists say, mainly in the provinces of Homs and Idlib, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for a daily two-hour ceasefire to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The death toll, which climbed from 56 to 100 on Tuesday following a fierce bombardment by government forces, was reported by the Local Coordination Committees, which has activists across the country and at the northern border with Lebanon.
Late on Tuesday, Syrian troops launched a fresh assault in Idlib, near the border with Turkey, targeting areas where the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) troops are positioned, killing 44 people, activists told DPA.
"Most died when Syrian forces shelled the Maaret al Naaman region, a hub for the FSA," said activist Mohamed Abdallah.
In Homs, which came under intense shelling by government forces earlier in the day, activists reported at least 56 deaths in what was described as one of the worst attacks on anti-regime protesters since February 4.
"There are also some 40 wounded in Homs, among them five children, who could not be treated because of scarce medical supplies due to the siege imposed on the region," Omar Homsi, an activist based in the region, told DPA by phone.
The surge in violence prompted the ICRC to call for a daily two-hour ceasefire so that it can deliver emergency aid and reach the wounded.
"The current situation requires an immediate decision to implement a humanitarian pause in the fighting," said Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC president, in a statement issued in Geneva.
"In Homs and in other affected areas, entire families have been stuck for days in their homes, unable to step outside to get bread, other food or water, or to obtain medical care," Kellenberger said.
Al Jazeera reported that the FSA had accepted the ICRC ceasefire call.
Earlier on Tuesday, the opposition said about 300 shells were fired in Homs city and surrounding areas. Homsi, the activist, said that the only makeshift clinic in the Baba Amr neighbourhood was also hit.
The FSA, composed mainly of army defectors, managed to foil two attempts by government troops to storm Baba Amr.
Several shells landed near the Lebanese border, wounding at least 10 people, Homsi said.
Meanwhile, two Iranian warships suspected of having delivered weapons to the Syrian regime left the Syrian coastal town of Tartous and were headed back to Iran through Egypt's Suez Canal, a source at the strategic waterway told DPA.
Activists based in Lebanon said the warships, which arrived in Tartous at the weekend, had delivered "sophisticated weapons and tapping equipment to help the Syrian authorities trace activists and opposition figures."
A Friends of Syria conference is scheduled to be held in Tunisia on Friday. Representatives of the regime have not been invited.
Russia said it would not take part in the meeting of Western and Arab nations, which it says will push for regime change.
Russia and China vetoed a resolution condemning the Syrian regime in the UN Security Council on February 4.
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